Visiting the Rock of Gibraltar should include a trip to see the Gibraltar apes and to explore the caves and tunnels inside the Rock.
Gibraltar Apes – Fat and Lazy
Travel Tips and Technology
As we travel we’ve made some mistakes and have learned a few things over the years as we have planned itineraries. Avoiding issues with TSA, U.S. Customs and Immigration, jet lag and loyalty programs. Hopefully our experiences can help you avoid delays, save money and help you get ready for your next adventure.
More articles and guides coming soon to this directory as we continue to update this page. Please check back often.
Spending Time In Tampa Bay Florida
More than beaches and Busch Gardens. A number of attractions worth a visit when visiting the Tampa Bay area and a historic Liberty Ship.
The Art and Science of Packing for a Trip
Traveling light can become a lifestyle once you begin focusing your attention on available options and planning for the trips needs. Traveling with lighter, easily rinsable, multi-purpose clothes actually makes the trip much easier on you when you no longer are hauling around oversized and heavy luggage.
Please Note: Most items shown on this page have links to Amazon for convenience only. We do not receive any commission or fees at all from Amazon. We only recommend items that we find have real value and are used by us in our travels.
Six Steps To Better Packing
Pick your wardrobe carefully. Know the weather where you are going to help determine what clothes to pack. Also try to determine any special events that may require dressing up or dressing down. With this information you will be able to determine what you will need but also what isn’t necessary to carry.
Eliminate items that need special care. Don’t take clothes that wrinkle easily, regularly need ironing or don’t easily dry. (See our wrinkle remover idea below.) Avoid packing items, like silk, that are easily damaged in a laundry.
Stage clothes you’ve selected in one place so you can get the whole picture and make an evaluation. Ask yourself questions like what combinations do I have and how many items work with each other. By carefully planning you can pack a half dozen items that mix to produce a dozen different looks. It’s important to be able to mix and match. Planning on layering your outfits can eliminate the need to carry heavy items.
Select clothes designed to travel. Give priority to clothes that can be rinsed out and dried quickly. There are growing choices in miracle fabrics that are designed to keep you cool and dry fast. These items are generally lighter in weight so they take up less space when packing and usually work well in layering making them fit multiple uses.
Pick shoes with a purpose. We travel with very lightweight tennis shoes (actually running shoes- see below), a pair of sandals and we usually wear our everyday shoes. Pick a comfortable pair that will fit into your wardrobe choices. When packing, fill fold-top sandwich bags with socks and small items and put them in your shoes. This keeps things organized and also keeps the shoes from creasing.
Select the right suitcases and backpacks. It is awkward to find yourself on a crowded train with an oversized suitcase that you can’t lift or will not fit in the overhead. On buses and commuter trains, you shouldn’t place suitcases on the seats as you’re taking up valuable space. During peak times the aisles can be packed making it impossible to maneuver large bags Nothings worse than being lectured or yelled at, especially in a language you don’t understand.
We have gotten into the habit of traveling mostly with two carry-on size suitcases and a couple of backpacks. We’re often use packing cubes to organize the suitcase contents and reduce items shifting around. Cubes are convenient to separate out clothes for just one night while in transit so you don’t have to rummage through a whole suitcase. We also travel with a light-weight foldable backpack for holding things acquired along the way or when we need to lighten the weight of a bag we need to check.
Clothes designed for the traveler and adventurer have become a whole category of its own. Brands like Columbia, North Face and Patagonia have built their brands around travel clothing but as the number of new miracle fabrics have exploded the choices in clothes for the modern traveler with many being at remarkable price points.
Do The Army Roll
The Holy Grail of packing is a way of getting maximum density in your gear while avoiding the bother of wrinkled clothes. To that end the military has a system. It’s called an Army roll (it’s also called a military roll but let’s give the U.S. Army the credit) and it really does work. Based first on the understanding that folds produce creases and loose packing of clothes adds wrinkles, the system was developed over years of practice.
The Army Roll may seem counter intuitive but it can be applied to many clothing items. In general its approach is to first fold clothes so that any creases are where they would be considered normal. Pant legs stretched tight along front and back creases and shirts folded so that the creases are straight down both sides of shirt front. After that the garments are rolled up tight and held in place. Often this uses cuffs and shirt tails folded up a few inches to tuck the roll into. Army rolls can work on slacks, shirts, jackets and even sport coats. For detailed information there are literally dozens of online videos – use the search term “army roll”.
A number of years ago we were on a cruise and our table mates were a retired couple who claimed that they traveled with only two carry-on suitcases and a couple of small shoulder bags and they used the Army roll system of packing. Over two weeks we remarked about their outfits and on formal night he even showed up in a tuxedo. On disembarking we can confirm that they walked out of the terminal wheeling those two carry-on bags behind them and two light canvas shoulder bags.
Travel Clothes
Our curated collection of light weight, easy dry clothing that can save you time and space while traveling:
32 Degrees – We’ve become very fond of this line of clothing. Available in thermal and sweat wicking shirts and other apparel. We both wear their T’s and thermals. LINK TO AND SHOP 32°
Exofficio – They offer a wide assortment of fast dry under garments for men and women along with interesting travel ideas. LINK TO AND SHOP Exofficio
Balanced Tech @ Amazon – this is another good collection of fast dry travel clothing. LINK TO AND SHOP BALANCED TECH
Under Armor – This company was the first in the market with sweat wicking clothing and was originally marketed to the military and police. to help them stay cool and dry. We started with this brand and the shirts have held up really well. LINK TO AND SHOP men’s wear LINK TO AND SHOP women’s wear
UNIQLO – this is a Japanese clothing company that is expanding quickly worldwide. We believe they offer a premium line utilizing a number of those amazing fabrics at a reasonable price. We have bought and traveled with their moisture wicking polo shirts and while heavier than some they still seem to rinse and dry very quickly. Order online and in stores. (we have no affiliation with Uniqlo)
Light Weight Running Shoes
Feetmat Women’s Running Shoes – ultra light weight and very breathable. They also have some very nice water shoes.
Whitin Mens Running Shoes – An ultra light weight and rugged running shoe.
Our Easy Travel Wrinkle System
Our system involves carrying a 2 or 3 oz spray bottle containing just a very small amount of ingredients. Once we are settling in and hanging up clothes we fill that spray bottle up with water and shake vigorously and mist those clothes wrinkles. Here’s the secret formula.
To a 2 or 3 Ounce Bottle add the following ingredients
- 1 Teaspoon rubbing alcohol
- 1/4 Teaspoon uncolored fabric softener
- Shake
When needed, fill the bottle with water and shake well and mist those wrinkles away.
The Easier and Free Alternative
The truth is that a gentle mist of just water will relax most cloth enough to drop out those wrinkle. So if you don’t want to bother mixing up a batch of wrinkle remover, just carry that empty bottle and just fill with water. Less hassle and it works almost as well.
Packing Cubes
The ultimate accessories for organizing your suitcase are packing cubes. Keeping clothes tight is an important part of reducing wrinkles and these inner packing cubes help with that. Another advantage is they allow you to segregate clothes into useful groups. No more rummaging through a suitcase, messing up clothes, looking for an item. We also use them to separate a group of clothes for a one night hotel stay while on a trip. No unpacking half a suitcase. When shopping for cubes you need to pay a lot of attention to the sets individual sizes for the best configuration to fit your suitcases.
USING A TRAVEL AGENT
Get More, Don’t Pay More
Why Use A Travel Agent?
If you weren’t aware, using a travel agent for booking trips involves no additional cost to you. Travel agents are compensated strictly by commission and their booking charges are exactly the same as if you had booked through an online travel site or directly with the travel supplier (resort, cruise line, tour company, theme park…). The costs of resort rooms, cruise cabins and airline seats are always in constant flux as availability and demand changes. If you do find a different price it is simply that the cost has been adjusted by the travel supplier after your recent quote. Also with a travel agent you have a better chance of benefitting from those typically shifting prices (more on that later).
Another thing that most people aren’t aware of is travel agents don’t get paid their commission until you actually take that trip. You may have booked that cruise a year ago and made your final payment months ago but until that ship sails, with you on board, no commission is paid. The same applies to resort rooms, tour bookings and other travel products.
The reason this is important to understand now is, in this age of the epidemics and travel cancellations your local travel agents income has probably gone to almost zero. In many cases over a years worth of work and income has simply vanished in the last few months. We’ve literally had almost seven months of cruise reservations alone disappear as sailings have been cancelled. Once the world opens up again many travel agents will be starting to build commissions from scratch all over again.
More Reasons To Use A Travel Agent
First, and this is one that hadn’t occurred to us before the recent collapse of the travel industries. If you had booked a cruise directly through the cruise companies website and cruise itineraries began to change and cruises started getting cancelled what were your options? From experience we know – not because we booked with the cruise line but because we needed to deal directly with the company as our long itinerary began to change. On average we spent two hours on hold and often got a representative who didn’t have the information and couldn’t offer anything but a call-back.
Once we got past the emergency information regarding flights and ports phase we turned everything over to our travel agent. She told us she was spending hours on hold too but when she reached her contact she had numerous cases to discuss.
Secondly, travel agents know what they’re talking about. Overall they are people that love travel. Often when they offer advice or make suggestions they have first hand information because they’ve already been there. Also most travel agents have a speciality like cruising or resorts and you should have a conversation about your interests before settling on an agent. While all agents can sell the whole world of travel products you should try and match your interests to the agent.
While there are more considerations in using a travel agent another big reason is they can actually save you money. Most travel agents are independent contractors but a majority also affiliate with large “super agencies” for support and the ability to take advantage of their buying power. They go by a number of names like American Express, Cruise Planners, Avoya but they all represent advantages for you and your agent.
One is that issue regarding the constantly changing prices on travel bookings. After you book a cruise what happens if the stateroom price comes down? If you find out about it you can contact the cruise line, but if you used a travel agent most have systems that track your reservation against changing prices and will let you know that you may have an opportunity for additional savings. Another way you can benefit involves group bookings. Most time when you book with an agent affiliated with a super agency there is a fair chance that they will book a number of people on the same trip. This allows them to combine all those booking into a group and get a bigger discount. The common practice today is for the agency to provide you with an additional credit or an add-on feature for your trip.
Selecting A Travel Agent
You need to find the right fit in an agent and that means asking friends, calling around and doing some research. Almost all travel agents can book any type of trip, but the best ones bring travel experience knowledge about their specific segment. Organized land tours, cruising, resort destinations and major attractions. There are agencies that specialize in cruises and some that focus on Disney vacations so start by knowing what your needs will be.
Don’t just find a listing and call one agent. Call a few to find the best match for your budget, bucket list or places to see and things to do. Keep your search local if possible and identify someone who is preferably independent with solid travel affiliations (a large franchise, American Express, a mega agency). They are most likely to be unbiased in what they offer while looking out for your best interest.
It’s important to understand the affiliation arrangements and to select one that has a connection with a larger organization. That arrangement allows them to take advantage of increased buying power, technology and website management and group travel discounts. Some affiliations to look for are American Express, Liberty Travel, and Avoya but ask about the advantages of their relationship. There are also franchise owners that are good choices in an agent. They include Expedia, Cruise Planners and Dream Vacations. There are links below for quick access to some of the better known.
In conclusion we would like to say that, if you are a traveler, travel agents need your help. Maybe you’ve been furloughed and expect to get back to your job and salary in the near future. Travel agents don’t have that to look forward to. As independent contractors they won’t take home a paycheck until they book your trip and after that not until you actually travel. If you are planning a trip in the future, you’ve got nothing to lose contacting a travel agent and probably much to gain.
Get Out There – Even Farther Out There
There once was a time when vacations were two weeks at the beach or mountains and an ultimate trip was a whirlwind tour of Europe. Those were our parents holidays, now experienced travelers are looking for longer and more exotic adventures and travel companies are eager to help. Use the links below to visit some websites to explore your adventure options.
Antarctica – Who ever thought that visiting Antarctica could be a vacation? Today Antarctica has a tourism industry. Over the past decade visitors to the frozen bottom of the world have numbered around 32,000 per year with 10,000 coming by cruise ship. Cruise ships provide all the luxury you’d expect but if you’d rather get up close to some wildlife look into expedition cruises with Hurtigruten or Antarctica Adventures.
The Galapagos – A unique group of islands off the coast of Ecuador with amazing wildlife. There isolation and incredible animals inhabitants inspired Darwin to develop his Origin of Species theory. These islands are growing so much in popularity as a travel destination that cruise lines have developed a fleet of smaller ships just to sail the Galapagos. You can also design an independent vacation and stay at one of the Galapagos hotels.
India – For Westerners India is still one of the most exotic travel destinations and perhaps that’s why lately it’s growing in popularity. Visiting India is much like saying your going to vacation in America – it is huge, being almost one third the size of America but with four times the population. It is also alien to most Westerners from its food, to the religion, culture and its ancient history. If you want to visit it’s recommended that you take it one small piece at a time and start your planning through one of the countries highly rated tour companies. You will also discover that more and more cruise itineraries are now including port calls in India.
The Northern Lights – Journey to the home of beluga whales, polar bears and in winter the amazing phenomenon of the northern lights or the aurora borealis, meaning “north wind of the dawn”. An event destination that stretches from Alaska across Canada to Iceland and Norway. Explore tours on the Alaska Railway to Fairbanks and the Aurora Borealis basecamp or a winter cruise to the top of Norway inside the Arctic Circle.
Explore Lost Civilizations Like Petra, Valley of the Kings, Angkor Wat and the Cities of the Maya. Mysterious and exotic places are out there and most are accessible to explorers of all ages. You know you want to go. All you need to decide is how to travel and when to go.
Petra is over two thousand years old it’s a city carved out of solid rock. It is not known precisely when Petra was built, but the city began to prosper as the capital of the Nabataean Empire from the 1st century BC, at the cross roads of the trade in frankincense, myrrh, and spices.
In a land of myth and legend are the burial grounds of the oldest and greatest kings of Egypt . These places exist in the collective imaginations of the world and seem almost impossible to occupy a place in the real world. The most impressive of Egypt’s ancient monuments lie in the Valley of the Kings.
Angkor Wat, the eighth wonder of the world, with the intricacy and symbolism of the Taj Mahal and the scale and symmetry of the Egyptian pyramids. The temple will inspire and amaze you and leave you in awe. A place that needs to be experienced in order to believe.
The Intentional Travelers 