Many travelers are willing to fly as long as five or six hours to a destination they’ve always wanted to see as long as they can spend at least three or four nights there. Travel dreamers often find themselves spending time online watching for airfare sales – and when they find one, they’ll snatch it up quickly.

Before you book that short getaway, however, make sure that your destination doesn’t take multiple forms of transportation to reach – such as islands that are only finally accessible by infrequent ferries or resorts that have a private shuttle from the airport (especially one that waits until a minimum number of guests have arrived and the van is considered ‘full’).

Of all the mistakes short-trip travelers make, however, the biggest is treating their short getaway like it’s a longer trip. It’s easy to do. Nearly all the expert travel advice is geared toward longer trips, but that advice can actually make a mess out of a short trip.

Here are some important tips to make the most of short getaways.

1. Carry your bags – don’t check them

Nothing would make your short getaway more frustrating than arriving at the airport and finding your bag was misrouted and won’t be here for days. With all the great packing advice, there’s really no reason to check a suitcase for a short trip:

Packing Smart: Best Tips from Travel Experts

7 Tips to Lighten your Load on your Next Trip

Plus, checking a bag usually requires getting to the airport even earlier and paying a little more money, which cuts into your time and cash for seeing the sights.

2. Book the hotel close to what you want to see

When you have more time to spend, booking a hotel some distance away from the action is often recommended for cost-saving reasons. When you’re on a short getaway, however, it takes time to get to and from your hotel, and it’s likely you’ll pay more for transportation too, so it’s not the best decision on a short trip.

Book your hotel close to the sites you want to see and you might spend a little more per night, but you may end up recouping that money by paying less in transportation and having more time.

3. Get a flight with as few connections as possible

You’ve probably noticed that the cheapest flights on those airfare sites like Orbitz, Kayak, and Expedia are the ones that involve switching planes at the airline’s central hub. This is a good idea for saving money when you’re on a longer trip, but on a short trip it only takes one summer tornado to disrupt flights for a day and there goes your vacation.

For a short trip, it’s best to pay the extra and take the non-stop flight so you have less risk of delays and more time at your destination.

4. Be realistic about what you can accomplish

Every traveler is different, and some like to see it all no matter what the cost; others want to take their time, stroll down unfamiliar streets and sample local foods.

Of course it all boils down to personal preference, but instead of rushing to multiple museums in D.C. to see them ‘all’, pick the two you really want to see and do one in the morning and one in the afternoon. You’ll get the same experience and you’re far more likely to remember some of it.

Traveling with someone who doesn’t care for art but is really interested in aviation? Split up, see the museum you want to see, meet for lunch and go on from there. You can share what you saw over dinner later.

5. Factor in the new time zone

Recovering from jet lag takes the same amount of time as it does on a longer trip, but there are a few things experts recommend to keep your recovery time as short as possible.

Most travelers find flying east delivers the worst jet lag punch versus flying west, but the key is to try to get on the new time zone as quickly as possible no matter which direction you’re headed.

• If you have time to prepare, try to get your sleep and wake times closer to your destination as much as a week before.

• If it’s night-time at your destination when you board the plane, go to sleep immediately – take a melatonin, cover your head with a shawl, pop in earplugs, whatever you have to do to fall asleep.

• Get outside early in the day after you arrive – the sunlight and fresh air will help your body reset its clock.

• Can’t make it through without a nap? Set your alarm and power nap instead of dragging it out too long.

Go to sleep when it gets dark at your destination – using all the tricks you need to make it happen and voila’!

6. Do some research before you arrive

Nothing is worse than arriving and not knowing what to do first – it leads to aimless wandering and a lot of “What are we going to do now?”. Planning is essential to short trips.

It’s worth taking a little time to research some dining options, information about the sites you want to see (when they’re open and what they cost is a good start), and how to get around your destination (can you walk, should you take a cab, that kind of thing).

• Get an ebook about your destination and mark your choices while you’re on the plane.

• Map the route from the airport to your hotel so you can get started quickly.

• Organize the sites you want to see with nearby dining options and pre-plan a few routes.

None of this means you can’t be spontaneous – it does mean that you’ll be seeing things when those who are less prepared are planning them because they waited until they arrived.

7. Get travel insurance if you need it

Not every trip or every traveler needs travel insurance, but stop and consider what you do need to protect yourself from big financial losses.

• If you’re traveling overseas, will your health insurance cover emergency care and evacuations? If not, consider getting a travel medical plan. It’s inexpensive and spending a little up-front can be worth a lot if you get food poisoning or hit by a taxi.

• Can you afford to lose the non-refundable trip costs if you have to cancel or abandon your trip due to an emergency? If you didn’t spend a lot in tickets and your hotel can be cancelled without a penalty, then you may not need this coverage at all.

Take a look at our Travel Insurance 101 for details. If you do get insurance, be sure to check out these techniques for having your travel documents along.

Here are a few other articles that will help you prepare for a safe short trip too:

• Safe Travelers Love Money Belts

• Don’t travel with a copy of your bank cards – use this nifty trick instead

• Do prepare a travel medical portfolio and have a travel medical kit

Renting vacation homes has become a highly popular option – especially for traveling families and couples for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, renting a vacation home gives a traveler more space and the added benefit of free parking in the garage or driveway as well as the option to fix at least some meals in the home and save on dining out. Most importantly, a vacation rental nearly always costs a lot less than staying at a hotel and you get to live like a local.

As a result, a number of well-established vacation home rental sites have sprung up over the years – allowing vacation home owners and potential renters to connect, chat about the property, and exchange payment.

It’s important for vacation home renters to rent only from trustworthy sources, i.e., those with a good reputation, a long presence online, and lots of good feedback. It’s also critical that you never wire cash for your payment – this is a well-known and well-documented scam. Only use a credit card to pay for your rental because it gives you the most protection. Be sure to read the reviews about a vacation property before you book it too. In some cases, you’ll find a terrific set of photos and a great description for a home right where you want to be, but the reviews will tell you if other renters have had a bad experience.

The following are the most critical questions to ask before booking your vacation rental.

1. What is the cancellation policy and where can I read it?

Any vacation can be affected by sudden and unexpected situations: a death in the family, a hurricane, work demands, a sudden illness, and more. The cancellation policy defines the terms should you or the property owner have to cancel the vacation rental. Understanding the vacation rental’s cancellation policy gives you the information you need to determine whether it’s necessary to have trip cancellation insurance.

Tip: If you’re concerned about having to cancel the rental for a reason that’s not included in the rental contract or in your trip cancellation plan, get ‘cancel for any reason’. It’s an inexpensive way to be sure you’ll get your money back if something unexpected happens (like the bridges to the island wash out and you can’t get to your rental).

2. Who is my emergency contact if something breaks?

Stuff happens all the time at your home, right? The toilet won’t flush, the power goes out, the dishwasher stops working. When something breaks or stops working in your vacation rental, however, you’ll want to know who to call and how soon it can get fixed.

Tip: Store that emergency contact as well as the property owner’s contact in your phone so you have it at your fingertips if you need it. It’s also useful if you suddenly realize you’ll be arriving late, for example, and you won’t have to dig to find the number.

3. What supplies are not included with the vacation rental?

Every rental property is different. In some cases you’ll need to bring your own bed linens, for example, and in others everything is provided. Arriving with a family of seven to find a single roll of toilet paper and no soap or shampoo can be a problem, so ask what’s included and know what you need to bring with you.

Tip: If you’ll be arriving late and know that you’ll need to have some supplies like cereal, shampoo, and pet food, for example, sidestep the problem by putting together a box of items you know you’ll need and shipping it to the property in time for your arrival. Inform your host so they know to put the box in the kitchen and you’re set!

4. What are the total fees related to this rental?

While the cost of the rental is one thing, many agreements include additional fees like cleaning fees, security deposits, and even maintenance fees. If you’ll be securing the property with a deposit, review the rental agreement so you know how it will be returned to you and in what time frame.

Tip: Asking the property owner for a filled out rental agreement is a great way to ensure that you understand all the costs related to a particular vacation home. You’ll want to review the rental agreement before finally committing anyway, so you’ll accomplish two things at once.

5. Where exactly is the property?

Many online vacation rental sites are now linking the property address to services like Google maps that ensure you can see the property’s exact location, but these steps are in response to years of owners exaggerating how close the property is to the ski lift, the center of town, or the beach. It can be disappointing to arrive and find out that the home you thought was in a quiet neighborhood is actually right next to a train track.

Tip: Get the exact address of the property and use Google Earth to view the property itself. You’ll get a much better idea of the layout of the lot and surrounding area, the distance to the beach, and whether the property is right next to a busy highway (you won’t see that in any pictures of the property!).

6. Does the property typically get good cell reception?

This may not sound important if you’re trying to get away from it all – and that’s great – until you have a medical emergency and need help. If you’re traveling in an unfamiliar area and experience a medical emergency, you won’t know where the closest emergency room is and if you don’t get good cell reception, calling 911 could be difficult.

Tip: If the vacation home is positioned such that it doesn’t get good cell reception, ask if there is a connected landline in the vacation home. It’s a good backup for emergencies.

7. What cleanup is expected upon departure?

The cleanup that’s expected when you leave a vacation rental typically includes stripping the beds, taking out the trash, and loading the dishwasher, but all of the rules should be carefully spelled out in the rental agreement. In some cases, if the guests don’t do these steps, they forfeit their security deposit so it’s important to know ahead of time.

Tip: Read the rental agreement carefully so you know what’s expected and you can plan ahead to get everyone involved to help before you leave.

8. Are there any rodents, critters, or insects present in the home?

Go with us on this one because it’s important. If you’re a city dweller and the vacation rental you picked sits in a beautiful mountain by a lake and the property is well known for having deer, bears, cougars, bobcats, and the like appear for an early evening drink, you’d want to know, right?

It may be just fine that the critters are there, but without a little warning you could be in for a real shock. The same is true for squirrels that nest in the attic or an infestation of ants that sometimes appear in the kitchen – you’d want to know and perhaps have the local handyman or animal control number on hand.

Tip: After reading all the reviews, ask the property owners this question and see what they say. It’s likely that you’ll have a much better idea what special visitors you can expect to enjoy, but it’s best to have a good idea what you’re in for ahead of time.

9. When was the vacation home last cleaned thoroughly?

If asking whether the home was last thoroughly cleaned seems a bit odd, think about how you’ll feel if you have to spend your hard-earned vacation time to clean a home you paid to stay in. Reading the reviews will help you know if the home was clean for other guests and if there are no reviews, it’s best to either avoid the home, or ask the question directly of the vacation home owner.

Tip: Ask whether the home is professionally cleaned is a good way to get around the issue. In many cases, the vacation home owner themselves clean it but others will hire pros to do it between guests.

10. How, when, and where do I pick up the keys?

This is a step that catches many vacation renters off-guard. The vacation homeowner will have a way for you to pick up the keys, but it’s important to understand the location and timing of this exchange. In some cases, the key will be left for you in a lock box and the combination can be texted to your phone, but if the procedure is to pick up the key from a local and that person is out to dinner and unreachable, you could be waiting around to get into the home after a long day of traveling.

Tip: Read the rental agreement for details about the key exchange and note whether there’s an extra charge for lost keys. You’re far less likely to lose your own keys because you recognize them, but vacation renters often lose the keys to their vacation homes simply because the keys are unfamiliar.

One last note before you leave …

Before you leave for your vacation rental, make sure you pack these items:

• The vacation home rental agreement and travel insurance – digital copies are fine as long as you can access them. See the 4 Best Backup Methods for your Travel Documents.

• A travel medical kit with basic medical supplies (you can’t be sure your vacation rental will have tylenol for a late-night fever, for example).

• A simple travel medical portfolio for each person on the vacation (this can save you loads of time and worry in a medical emergency).

Also, know how to find medical care from your vacation rental property. If you’re traveling abroad, the emergency hotline equivalent to the U.S. 911 will be different so it’s important to know what those numbers are. Your travel insurance assistance services can be helpful when you need to find emergency medical care too.

With all the recent noise about ‘can you afford travel insurance’ and ‘should you buy travel insurance’, we thought it was time to address the topic from a different angle – saving money on your travel insurance purchase.

Before we look into how to save money on your travel insurance, let’s review what exactly is travel insurance?

Travel insurance is an agreement between a travel insurance company and an insured traveler ensuring the former will pay for the unexpected costs a traveler encounters on a trip. Just like car insurance, you can choose to purchase a bare-bones travel insurance plan or a full-featured one with all the bells and whistles.

What unexpected costs can a traveler encounter? Well, depending on your style of travel and the trip you’re taking, you could encounter:

• The loss of all your prepaid non-refundable trip costs if you have to cancel your trip or return home to handle an emergency.

• The need to cover the cost for medical treatment outside your health insurance network. Foreign hospitals often require pre-payment before treatment is given.

• A flight delay or the loss of your baggage, meaning you have to come up with more cash to cover alternative transportation or to replace clothing and personal items.

• A very desperate need to be evacuated out of a dangerous situation to a location where you can receive adequate medical treatment for a serious injury.

As with any insurance product, you buy it to protect yourself from catastrophic financial losses and to ensure your own personal safety. Every insured persons hopes they’ll never need their plan, but when they do they’re glad they have it.

All that being said, let’s look at how you can keep your travel insurance costs as low as possible.

1. Don’t insure your refundable trip costs

Think about it. Not all of your prepaid trip costs are non-refundable. Some hotels allow their customers to cancel their reservations provided the traveler calls within a certain time-frame.

Travel insurance plans only cover non-refundable losses, so don’t cover the costs you can recover because that raises the price of your premium.

2. Avoid over-insuring your trip

Lots of travel insurance plans offer multi-millions in AD&D (Accidental Death and Dismemberment) and flight insurance (just like life insurance, but for flight accidents). If you already have adequate life insurance and AD&D, this ‘extra’ coverage is unnecessary and it only serves to raise the price of your premium.

Likewise, many travel insurance plans include car rental collision coverage, but if you already have the same coverage with your own car insurance back home or with your credit card (check to be sure) you’re over-insuring the trip and wasting money.

3. Don’t get too much evacuation coverage

Emergency medical evacuations are expensive affairs, and it’s not something you want to whip out your credit card to pay for, but at the same time it’s not necessary to have too much evacuation coverage.

It’s rare for an evacuation to cost more than a couple hundred thousand dollars – and that’s only for extreme cases where the traveler is in a remote location (the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, for example) and medical care is very far away. Many travel insurance plans offer millions of dollars in evacuation coverage, and for most trips it’s just too much.

4. Avoid ‘cancel for any reason’ if you don’t need it

‘Cancel for any reason’ coverage is nearly always an upgrade, and as such, it adds to your trip insurance cost, but the covered reasons for trip cancellation are often adequate. Plus some plans limit how much a traveler can be reimbursed for with their ‘cancel for any reason’ benefit whereas standard trip cancellation always ensures 100% of the prepaid non-refundable trip costs insured by the traveler.

Spend a little time reviewing the policy details to understand the covered reasons for trip cancellation during your plan’s free review period. Many travelers find that their trip cancellation concerns are already covered, and if they’re not, switch to another plan.

5. Don’t cover cheap, last-minute, or domestic trips

If you’re taking a last-minute, super saver trip within the U.S., you probably don’t need travel insurance. Your health insurance will cover emergency medical care (although at an out-of-network rate in some situations) and since you didn’t pre-pay for a lot of trip costs, then you probably don’t have a lot to lose.

Carry your bags onto the plane yourself instead of checking them in with the airline, and you’ll avoid a lost luggage situation and save yourself even more.

6. Avoid travel insurance purchased on booking sites

It looks too easy and it’s usually pretty cheap, but clicking that checkbox could cause you far more harm than good.

Here’s why:

• The language used to sell the policy doesn’t make the policy details clear

• You have one plan to choose and one only – no price comparisons

• The plan may not cover your needs (as anyone with a pre-existing condition can tell you)

Purchasing your travel insurance from a third-party travel insurance comparison engine gives you far more options. So, you can get the plan you need without a lot of coverage you don’t. Plus, you can price-shop much easier and, in most cases, you’ll pay a lot less than you’d expect.

Recently, we heard from a traveler who was starting her trip in Pennsylvania, going to warm and sunny Florida for a few days, then boarding a cruise ship that would take her through the Panama Canal and deposit her in San Diego. After spending some time in San Diego with friends, this traveler planned to fly to Colorado to do some hiking and later head home. The entire trip would last a little less than four weeks.

This traveler’s trip was scheduled for spring, which meant they would be leaving in cold, possibly snowy weather, going to a warmer climate, back to a chilly climate, and then to warm again. She would be traveling in both very high and very low elevations and, of course, there’s no predicting the weather patterns she could encounter along the way. After all, it can get downright chilly in the upper elevations and out on the water on a cruise ship even in the best of weather.

One of the most difficult challenges of packing light occurs when you’re required to pack for multiple climates. Yet some travelers claim they can pack for any type of weather in just a single bag. So we decided to research the expert recommendations and discover the best tricks for packing for multiple climates in a single bag.

1. Start with a packing list

Lots of frequent travelers have these, but even those travelers who take just one trip a year have some experience putting together a packing list. After all, there are those items that you must have: prescriptions, reading glasses, for example, and there are those items that make you more comfortable along on your trip, like an e-reader, for example.

Ultimately, you want to plan and pack for the ideal, best-case scenario and then purchase your way out of a jam when you have to. If all the layers in your bag just won’t keep you warm in a freak snowstorm, for example, then buy a coat.

Think in terms of what you cannot do without and not what would be handy on your trip. After all, they have stores in other countries too and just imagine the fun of exploring a foreign supermarket on a rainy afternoon!

2. Handle the warmest climate first, then the coldest

Start with the warmest climate you’ll encounter and determine what you’ll wear there. These items may include shorts, a swimsuit, light t-shirts, etc. These become one layer of your clothing strategy. Make sure each piece of clothing can be worn alone and that each piece is also thin enough to add extra warmth when paired with other pieces, which you’ll be adding next.

With your warm-weather pile established, tackle the colder climate. A light fleece adds warmth but it’s no match against wind or rain. A light fleece sweater layered over your warm-weather tank top and under a light rain-proof jacket not only looks good, but is warm and comfy in the wind and rain.

3. Think layers and double duty

Wearing layers of clothing is the only way a traveler can effectively pack for both warm and cold weather, dry and damp conditions. The layers trap heat against the body – keeping you warm – and the outer layers can be removed as the heat builds up and you need to cool down.

Clothing items that work double-duty are the best. Think:

• Light jackets with thumb holes – almost like gloves, hands stay warm

• Ballet flats – work for day and night and great for walking

• Silk underwear – great for warmth under other layers and thin, thin, thin

• Fine gauge sweaters in silk, merino, and cashmere – easy layering and they don’t hold odor the same way synthetics do (easier to wash too!)

• Tights or leggings – work great to keep warm under pants and skirts and great for light wear too (get the ones that don’t cling to other clothing)

Once you’ve got both your warm and cold weather clothing choices in a pile, it’s time to edit.

4. Eliminate, eliminate, eliminate

Now, it’s time to edit ruthlessly. Any item that is edgy or on the cusp – and you know you may not wear it – gets eliminated. Only those items that can be used many times and with many other items go in the suitcase. If necessary, put the outfits together and see how they work with each other.

These items take too much space in your bag and should be eliminated at all costs:

• Sweatshirts

• Blue jeans

• Sneakers/running shoes

• Hiking boots

We recognize that many of these are simply go-to staples in the typical American wardrobe. No problem – wear them on the plane instead of packing them and you’ve got the best of both worlds.

You may not need shampoo, conditioner, body wash or a range of other items if you’re traveling to a hotel that provides them and you aren’t too picky. Eliminate them. No need for a hair dryer either – even cruise ships have these. You don’t need towels either – if where you are going doesn’t have them, why are you staying there?

Note: If you really have to have your own towel (perhaps you’re camping for days or on a cruise ship that’s lost power), try some of the high-tech, quick-drying towels on this site.

5. Identify and control the space hogs

What are the space hogs in any suitcase or bag? It’s your shoes and your electronics. After all, they don’t squish as well as a t-shirt does.

When it comes to shoes, the fewer pairs you take, the better. Ask yourself these questions before choosing a pair of shoes for your trip:

1. Is this pair of shoes necessary?

2. Does this pair of shoes go well with most of my clothing?

3. Should I wear these on the plane to save packing space?

Any pair of shoes that ends up in your bag should be used to secure other items so you aren’t wasting the space where your foot normally goes. That’s valuable real estate in a tight market.

When it comes to electronics, separate the cords and chargers and put them into a separate drawstring bag or plastic zipper bags – squeeze out the air to save more space.

Taking extra batteries? See how to safely transport spare lithium batteries.

6. Wash as you go

You can easily wash clothes in the hotel room sink or find a laundry once a week or so to get things really clean. Use a biodegradable soap that is friendly to the environment especially since some areas require it. You can even use shampoo to clean your clothes and you know it will be easy to wash out and not ruin the color – after all, you’re using it on your hair as the perfect testing ground.

Look into taking a packable clothesline on which to hang your washed clothing or simply use the clothes hangers in the hotel closet and the shower bar!

7. Toss along the way

We’ve heard of travelers who swear by this trick. They pack and wear their oldest clothes – especially those ratty t-shirts that are great for sleeping in and take the place of having to pack pajamas – on their trips and simply toss them as they go.

Think about it: these travelers get to go shopping in a new place and fill their bags with lovely fresh items. It’s a great way to recycle your wardrobe and not draw too much attention to yourself as a ‘rich American’ at the same time.

With travel horror stories like emergency medical evacuations, stranded cruise ships, and super blizzards, travelers have become more aware of travel insurance and yet they still have a lot to learn.

Unfortunately, the impression that many travelers have is that once they buy the plan, they’re covered for anything that goes wrong on their trip.

Like any other insurance product, your travel insurance is a legal document and there are exclusions and limitations to the coverage you have to understand before you can be 100% confident you have the right coverage.

Here are 6 steps to avoid denied travel insurance claims.

1. Buy your travel insurance policy early

Your travel insurance can’t protect you from things that have already happened. If the hurricane warning has been issued, or your spouse is ill, or the traffic accident occurred, it’s too late to buy a travel insurance policy to cover your trip for those events. Also, several important coverages require the traveler to purchase the plan within a certain number of days of making their first trip deposit, so you want coverage for:

• Pre-existing medical conditions

• Hurricanes

• ‘Cancel for any reason’

• ‘Cancel for work reasons’

you’ll need to buy your travel insurance early.

2. Insure all your pre-paid trip expenses

Many travelers purchase their flights and then buy their travel insurance, estimating the cost of their remaining travel expenses. This is a great way to lock in your coverage and get access to the time-critical coverages, but you’ve got to circle back and update your coverage for all your non-refundable travel expenses once you have a total or some coverages, like trip cancellation, won’t be active. Not only that, the travel insurance plan won’t send you a check for the portion of your trip you did insure.

You’ve got to check your travel details and total up the trip costs to make sure your coverage is valid. If you estimate high, then finalize your plans during the free look period, you can make changes to your policy and be set to go.

3. Recognize what a pre-existing condition means

A pre-existing condition is defined in travel insurance plans as “any injury, illness, disease or other medical condition that occurs prior to the travel plan’s effective date and for which you had symptoms and sought diagnosis, medical treatment, and/or new prescription medications or a change in your current prescription.”

The definition doesn’t change even if you later find out you had a pre-existing condition and didn’t know it. If you recently visited the doctor for a medical issue (within the last 60-180 days) and don’t have the results from that visit yet, you might want to hold off on buying your travel insurance. At least until you’re sure the reason you visited the doctor isn’t going to result in a diagnosis that may cause you to cancel your trip. If you buy your travel insurance, then find out you have a diagnosis that means you’ll have to cancel your trip, that cancellation won’t be covered unless you bought pre-existing medical condition coverage.

4. Read and understand the covered reasons for cancelling

Unfortunately, many travelers read ‘trip cancellation’ and think that means they can cancel their trip no matter what, but it’s just not true. Travel insurance providers specifically list the reasons a traveler can and cannot cancel their trip and expect to be reimbursed for their lost non-refundable payments.

Read the travel insurance plan documents that are sent to you by email when you buy the plan to understand the reasons you can and cannot cancel your trip. If you want the right to cancel your trip for any reason at all, get ‘cancel for any reason’ as your backup coverage.

5. Get to know the exclusions

Every insurance plan has exclusions and travel insurance does too. We recently heard of a traveler who cancelled their trip because of a job loss, but their claim was denied because they hadn’t worked the required minimum time at the company (1 to 2 years is standard). Understandably, the traveler was angry but the policy was clear. The traveler just hadn’t read it thoroughly. If she’d had ‘cancel for any reason’ her trip would have been covered.

Stop and read the exclusions listed in your travel insurance plan document and think about the things that can go wrong. The exclusions are typically contained in an easily identified part of the travel insurance plan documents, so they’re not too hard to find.

6. If something happens, get all documentation you can

Often, travel insurance companies are forced to deny claims because of a lack of documentation. Many travelers expect their travel insurance company to take their word that the flight was delayed or that their passport was stolen and it’s just not reasonable.

If something happens on your trip and you believe you’ll need to make a claim, get written documentation to prove that loss. If you’re sick, go to the doctor and get a diagnosis in writing – even if it’s the flu and you know how to treat it. Otherwise, the travel insurance company won’t have proof and your claim will be denied.

 

Before you start envisioning your standard tour guide standing in the front of a crowded bus full of tourists – much like a moving fish tank for the locals to gawk at – barking out boring facts about things you couldn’t care less about, there are many different types of travel guides.

Many travel guides these days are independent, self-promoting individuals who are experts in a particular area. They usually take very small, intimate groups to see those sights and restaurants that only the locals know. Even travelers who prefer checking out things on their own may find that hiring a private tour guide, especially when you have a short amount of time and don’t know your way around, is the best way to really enjoy your time in a particular place.

There’s no right or wrong way to travel to and in a new region of the world, but how you go about it depends on a few factors:

• Your budget
• The amount of time you have
• What you want to see and do

The kind of travel guide we’re speaking of here is not one of the fast-talking touts who pester anyone with a suitcase at the local point of entry. Instead, we’re talking about a real live local who knows the area you are visiting and can take you to the places you never knew existed – even introduce you to the locals.

1. Immediate access to things you wouldn’t be able to see otherwise

Something you may not know from the travel books is that many museums and monuments round the world work with independent local travel guides whom they can trust to bring in visitors and not require the services of the on-site staff too much and as a result, they’re more willing to allow privileges to those traveling with a known travel guide.

When traveling with a travel guide, you’re often privy to access to things you wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. For example, if you’re traveling in Rome and want to see the Vatican, you’ll wait for hours in a line but with a guide, you’ll get in a lot quicker. A local tour guide will also best understand the quickest ways to get around the new area just like you know how best to get around in your home town.

2. The ability to learn about the culture from someone on the inside

One of the first and most important benefits of hiring a local travel guide is the chance it gives you to learn about the culture from someone on the inside.

A good local travel guide will be able to explain the local culture – that is, why people are doing what they do every day – from the insider perspective. They should also make sure you, as a foreigner in a new place, don’t feel out of place.

3. The flexibility to tailor your travel to what you want to see

While most travelers think of standard tour buses packages when they think of the term tour guide, there are many private travel guides who will tailor the experience to include the sights and attractions you want to see instead of taking the standard tourist route.

Hiring a private tour guide gives a traveler an individual experience with a personalized touch and avoids the crowds. Plus, in most cases, the tour price includes discounted admission into the attractions as well as all of the subway, bus, taxi and even boat fares – a fact that can help offset the cost of hiring a private travel guide to the budget traveler.

4. Insight, companionship, and a little more security

In some places of the world, the bureaucracy and red tape makes it difficult for a foreigner to get anywhere; in other places, it’s simply not safe to travel alone. For many travelers – and especially solo travelers – the value of having a local expert show them around and negotiate with the locals is priceless.

Of course, the added security of 1. knowing where you’re going (or at least looking like it with a guide striding by your side), and 2. having another person along with you when you explore means a little extra security. No one plans to get robbed or kidnapped, but it’s much less likely with a local at your side.

When should you hire a private travel guide?

There are some trips when it really helps to hire a private travel guide. These include:

1. When you have very little time. Business travelers have learned the value of a private tour guide when they have just a little time in a place and still want to have a meaningful experience.
2. When you are visiting a relatively dangerous or chaotic location. Anyplace with a reputation for being dangerous or unpredictable means a private travel guide can help keep you safe and out of tough spots.
3. When you are visiting a particularly popular location. A private tour guide will know the tricks and tactics to help yoy get the most out of a heavily visited location by going before or after the crowds, for example.
4. When you’re on a long stay and want to really know the area. Hiring a private travel guide at the start of a longer stay can help you get your bearings for the area and will often leave you with a list of things to explore on your own.
5. When you’re taking an adventure trip. Unless you’re an expert at your chosen activity and the local region, weather, and topography, hiring a guide could be a matter of life and death. In some regions, foreign visitors are required to hire guides.
6. When you want to hand over the boring logistics. The hassle of obtaining tickets, timing reservations, checking operating hours and figuring out the details is easy stuff for any experienced travel guide and often paying them is simply worth it for the value you get.
7. When the language barrier is too severe. When you don’t speak the local language and the locals are unlikely to speak yours, hiring a private tour guide can be invaluable.

Finding a good travel guide can be a challenge since many don’t have a website or market themselves. Often, however, asking other tourists or the locals once you get there can garner a good recommendations. Some websites have begun popping up to advertise local guides as well as giving you an idea of their credentials.

What should you look for in a travel guide?

A good tour guide will have been living in the region for some time because they chose to. They may have grown up there and never wanted to leave, or they may be foreigners themselves and found the region you’re visiting and became a local. Either way, there’s a reason they are where they are and doing what they do – it’s because the love the area, they know the area, and they like sharing it with others.

Just remember while a travel guide is especially helpful when you don’t know the local language, the common language of smiling and knowing a few basic words and phrases will get a traveler pretty darn far too.

This week’s question of the week asks whether you, or someone traveling with you, ever had a medical emergency abroad?

If so, how did you handle finding medical care and were you able to pay the bill?

Please leave your comments and share your story below.