If you desire to see new places and enjoy new experiences, travelling may be just the thing for you. The downside, though, is that it costs a lot and takes time out of your schedule. Here are a few tips you can use in making you vacation both enjoyable and affordable.

Don’t exchange your cash in another country, use an ATM instead. Banks often have better rates for exchanging money than you will find on your own. You can save a lot of money later by doing this.

Sign up to receive emails for watching travel prices. A lot of websites allow you to specify your destinations and will monitor prices for you. If a hotel or airfare drops by your designated amount, you’ll get an email alert to notify you of the change. This means you don’t have to look at prices every day.

Look for a hotel that offers free parking and stay the night before leaving from a port city, on a cruise. Ask the staff about deals for parking even if you haven’t been able to locate any.

Be sure a loved one has access to the itinerary of your trip. This is a great tip because it ensures that a non-traveler is always aware of what you are doing. Also, stay in touch with that person for safety’s sake. As long as they receive regular contact from you, they will not worry.

Housekeeping Staff

Hotel etiquette calls for tipping the bellhop and housekeeping staff. Tipping the bellhop around $1 per bag and the housekeeping staff around $2 to $5 per day is certainly not excessive. Tipping ensures good service and is sure to make your interactions with hotel staff more pleasurable.

Sleeping medication can help you get through a rough flight. It is often hard to get much rest on airplanes, given the cramped seating, machine noise and people milling about. If you feel anxious about flying, think about taking a sleeping pill. Refrain from taking sleeping medication before you actually take off. If your flight is delayed, you will likely need to remain wide awake to make other arrangements.

When traveling abroad, it is smart to think about possible emergencies like losing your passport. You can find the information you need at the website for The United States Department of State. Department of State has a website which provides all of the information that you need for the country you’re visiting. Write all of this information down and keep it handy during your trip. You can have a replacement passport ready within a couple of days.

Make sure to find out if you need a visa when travelling to a foreign county. It is a good idea to apply for a visa months before you have to travel, as the processing times for visas can be quite long. Unless you have the correct visa, you may not be able to enter certain countries.

You can have an eco-friendly vacation by using services that are environmentally responsible. Do business at hotels that use green energy and offer recycling. Rental cars, tours, and many restaurants are also more eco-friendly these days.

If you are going to be a frequent visitor to the national parks, it only makes sense to get a yearly pass. While the initial outlay is $50, they are valid for a one year term and give you open access to all national parks.

If you are taking a small child in a long car ride, plan on taking breaks every few hours. This will give you a chance to stretch your limbs. Small children will be less likely to suffer from motion sickness this way. Your trip may take a bit longer, but the reduction in stress is worth the small delay.

If you are a forgetful person and you plan on traveling, bring a dry erase marker along to write little memos on the mirror in your hotel bathroom. A paper note can easily get lost, but a note written on a mirror is hard to ignore. Clean up is simple; just use a tissue.

When you are one a long road trip, make plans to get your car checked at service points. When you’re traveling on the road, you can run across long stretches in which there are not many stops or any stops for helping you to maintain or service your vehicle. Plan the route and look for decent service stations that may maintain your vehicle. You need to also make note of phone numbers for any repair businesses or nearby motels in case you need to make a call for assistance or stay somewhere overnight while repairs are made.

Pack extra passport photos when traveling. If you lose you passport or it gets stolen, replacement can take a while. Having a spare will make life easier. Remember to bring the necessary documentation that you might have to have with you, too.

Consider using E-tracking when it is available on a travel site. These sites will alert you should accommodations or flight prices change. If a seat on a previously booked or tagged flight becomes available for a lower rate, the service will send you an email alert.

Prior to traveling, all important documents must be copied. You want to be sure to have your copies of important documents in another location. Also, have someone you know keep a set of copies, too. This helps if all copies in your possession are lost.

Regardless of where you are planning to go, follow these tips for a great vacation. Traveling is a fun and interesting adventure, you can never be certain what you may run into, so get out and have some fun!