When you arrive at your travel destination, follow Benjamin Franklin’s “early to bed and early to rise” philosophy, set your wrist watch and travel alarm to local time, enjoy a light supper with no caffeine, go to bed early in the evening…and awake refreshed, unjet-lagged, and ready to enjoy a full day of new vistas, adventures, and tempting cuisines.

~ 1 time Vantage Traveler • Forest R. • Inverness, FL

Here are a few tips on how to make your time in the air relaxing!

Create a Flight Necessities bag

Don’t worry about getting out of your seat to grab items from your stowed away carry on! Bring a small bag with you on your travels just to eliminate these instances. In this bag, pack the items that you will need throughout your entire flight. When you use a small bag, you will be able to access everything you need without leaving your seat. Stow it under the seat in front of you or if small enough, store it in the seat pocket in front of you. Pack items such as gum, necessary medication, water bottle, headphones, and a pillow or blanket if you need them!

Bring Headphones

When trying to relax on a flight, the first thing that may come to your mind is the noise of your plane. Eliminate the sound by plugging in your headphones to a music player or the in flight movie. You will not hear the noise of people talking around you and the roar of the plane engine. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight!

Quick Tip: For better noise cancelling purposes, try noise-canceling headphones. Find an electronics store closest to you for a set of noise canceling headphones that will allow you to enjoy your flight to the fullest!

Drink Water

You should drink water before and during your flight to help you fight headaches and jet lag that may come from your travel. Drink water until you get to the security gate at the airport but remember, you cannot bring liquids through customs. Buy a water bottle after you clear through the security checkpoint or ask for water on the plane (free). Dehydration is common in travel because people get very caught up in visiting a new destination and may forget to hydrate. Drinking many fruit juices can help you hydrate, try for juices with less sugar to stay a little healthier! Stray away from coffee during your flight. In some cases it will help you stay awake but typically, coffee dehydrates. So if you do not drink enough water and you drink coffee, you may not feel so well.

Tag your Bag

Throughout your travel, your luggage is a key component. It is important that you can keep track of your luggage. One of the best ways to identify your bags is to tag them. Put a tag or a marker on your bag that will let it stand out from other luggage. This lets you identify it immediately and will prevent situations of false luggage identification from happening. Tag it using airline provided ID tags or use identifiers such as a piece of tape around the handle or a ribbon tied to the exterior of the bag. You could either buy a tag or you could personalize your own. Be creative!

Street vendor roasting chestnuts in Seville, Spain. To find the best street food, watch where the locals go.

Budget Travel Magazine recently released its list of the cities with the world’s tastiest street food. An eclectic selection of culinary treasure troves, the list features a number of Vantage destinations: Rio de Janeiro (#6), Brussels (#8), Vienna (#9), Istanbul (#10), Tel Aviv (#11), Bangkok (#12) and Hanoi (#13).

But while sampling a city’s delicious food can be one of the most gratifying aspects of traveling, smart travelers take special care to make sure what they’re eating won’t make them sick. Remembering a handful of general principles relating to food safety can make your culinary experience the best it can be — whether you’re picking up a fresh acai shake in Rio or a sabich pita sandwich in Tel Aviv.

1. Drinking water is the most common source of dietary problems while traveling. Because foods are often washed and cooked in water, water quality ought to be a concern for any discerning traveler. [Note: We recommend bringing along a reusable bottle to refill with water that has been boiled or purified with tablets, which are available at most outdoors stores. Plastic bottle waste is one of the biggest environmental crises in many developing countries popular to travelers.] As a last resort, bottled water is available in most places around the world.
2. Above safety concerns in mind, drink lots of water. You’re walking around a lot, often in warm temperatures, and thus your likelihood of becoming dehydrated is much higher than when you’re sedentary. Aim for drinking around 2 Liters of water throughout the day.
3. Live by the colonial mantra, “Cook it, wash it, peel it or forget it.” Foods that are cooked or in their peels are less susceptible to airborne contaminants than raw or uncooked foods. Any raw fruits or vegetables you consume should be washed in purified water.
4. Stick to condiments – like mayonnaise, ketchup and salad dressing – that are served in sealed packages.
5. Order meats and eggs well-done or medium-well and eat them while they are hot.
6. In certain places, avoid cold meat platters, cheese, buffet foods, unpasteurized dairy products and unsealed condiments.
7. Fish tend to accumulate and store contaminants from a variety of sources. Order seafood at your own risk and only from well-trusted sources.
8. A good snack food in most places are nuts and other shelled foods.
9. Not all street vendors or restaurants are created equal. Ask locals or a hotel concierge for their recommended list of restaurants or vendors, or else follow the crowds to the area’s better dining-out spots.
10. Bring your own plates and utensils, if you have them. This is a way to cut risk from food-borne illness due to improper washing.

Though these tips don’t apply in every travel situation, thinking about what you’re eating and drinking while traveling will ensure that you stay happy and healthy while on vacation. For the latest food advisories in your travel destinations, visit The World Health Organization’s Food Safety website before you leave home.

PHOTO CREDIT: CHESTNUTS IN SEVILLA BY SUE ANNA JOE VIA STOCK.XCHNG.

Note: Business days are Monday through Friday, unless otherwise noted. Use this schedule as a general guide only. Times may vary in larger cities, and during the peak tourist season.

Over a long trip with a lot of shopping excursions, VAT taxes can add up to more than just loose change.

Keep track of whether you’ll qualify for a value-added tax (VAT) refund. Many nations outside the U.S. impose a VAT on goods and services. Some of them, particularly those belonging to the European Common Market, offer refunds to foreign purchasers. Keep in mind that the minimum amount for purchases to qualify for refunds will vary form country to country. For example, the minimum can range from $25 USD in Sweden to $340 USD in Switzerland. Merchants in each country are well versed in which purchases qualify for VAT refunds.

If a purchase qualifies for the VAT refund, you must ask for a form at the point of sale. This form needs to be stamped at the airport customs office in the country of purchase before you leave for the U.S. Time permitting, and if the refund office is open, it may be possible to get a refund at the airport. More often, you will be required to mail the stamped form in the specially marked envelope back to the VAT office listed on the form.

The refund will take 6-8 weeks for processing. The refund will be made in the same form as the purchase, that is, purchases made by credit card will be refunded to the credit card, and cash purchases will be refunded by a check made out in the currency of the issuing office. Please note that U.S. banks charge fees to cash foreign checks. Unless the refund is significant, this extra time and effort, along with unfavorable currency fluctuations, may actually result in the VAT refund costing you money. It is recommended that major purchases be paid by credit card.

If you wish to apply for the refund, be sure to allow extra time at the airport.

Countries that offer VAT/GST refunds
(Source: World Travel & Tourism Tax Policy Center at Michigan State University)

EC countries

• Austria
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Monaco
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom

Other European countries

• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Estonia
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Luxembourg
• Norway
• Slovenia
• Switzerland
• Asia
• Japan
• South Korea
• Turkey

Africa

• South Africa

North America

• Canada (known as GST – Goods & Services Tax – but essentially the same as other countries’ VAT taxes)

More Useful Resources on VAT/GST Taxes

• The World Travel & Tourism Tax Policy Center at Michigan State University has a useful explanation of what VAT is and how it works.
• Exhaustive table of VAT Duties by Country provided by USCIB (the United States Council for International Business).
• Reid’s Guides and Rick Steves’ Europe both have useful articles on handling VAT refunds. The Rick Steves article includes a useful table showing by country the minimum amount you must spend to quality for a VAT refund.

Find out beforehand about international driver’s licenses and any special restrictions on foreign drivers placed by governments or rental companies overseas. U.S. drivers should be particularly aware that some other countries impose age limits on driving and renting that do not exist in the United States.

Rental companies in some countries will not allow people over a certain age (generally 70 or 75) to rent cars. Other countries may impose a surcharge on older drivers, or they may limit access to certain types of cars. Finally, in many places providing a rental is at the discretion of the rental agency; the agency may turn you down regardless of age if they feel you are too old to operate a vehicle.

Here are specifics on a number of countries where senior travelers may have difficulty:

• Czech Republic: No legal age restriction, but older drivers may encounter difficulty with rental agencies.
• Denmark: Legal age limit for rentals is 80.
• Greece: Some agencies restrict rentals to drivers under 70.
• Ireland (Republic of): Legal age limit for rentals is 75. Surcharges on drivers 70-74.
• Italy: Some agencies restrict rentals to drivers under 75.
• Poland: No legal age restriction, but older drivers may encounter difficulty with rental agencies.
• Romania: Some agencies restrict rentals to drivers under 70.
• Slovakia: No legal age restriction, but older drivers may encounter difficulty with rental agencies.
• Turkey: No legal age restriction, but older drivers may encounter difficulty with rental agencies.
• U.K. & Northern Ireland: Some agencies restrict rentals to drivers under 70.

In some places, rules for leasing a car may be less restrictive than renting.

It’s also a good idea to check driving rules in all countries for cross-border trips, even if the country you are initially renting in has no age-based restrictions. Make sure you are still legally entitled to operate a vehicle in all countries you’ll be visiting, not just the one in which you rent.

Make a list of items you want to buy and the sizes you’ll need. Then check prices in your local stores. That way, you’ll have a basis for comparison.

The Born to Shop guides by Suzy Gershman, published by Frommer’s, are an excellent resource. Each guide in the series covers a major vacation destination, and offers tips on prices, maps of shopping districts, where to find factory outlets and flea markets, currency conversion charts, and more.

Tech Tip for Power Travelers

Do you use a smartphone such as an Apple iPhone, Blackberry, or Tmobile G1 with Google Android? Many such devices allow you to download price comparison applications. These apps can scan barcodes on merchandise using your phone’s camera and then compare prices with nearby businesses. While they aren’t much good in the bazaars of Tunisia, they often work quite well in places like Canada and Europe. If you’ve had experience using one of these apps while abroad, please leave a comment and tell us about it.