To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

Here’s a few of the interesting requests from these first-time visitors:

• Eat at Taco Bell, IHOP and Subway.
• Meet a real cowboy.
• Go shopping. While this is a common request from visitors from all the countries that I am with, I’m most perplexed by the visitors who are from China making this request. Chances are very high that they will be buying items labeled “Made in China.” Can’t they be found less expensive in China, maybe at their version of a factory outlet mall?
• Meet a ‘CHiPS’ police officer on a motorcycle.
• Go through a drive-through anything (yes, not all countries have drive-through fast food restaurants or banks or churches).

Some of these may seem silly, especially when you think of someone traveling thousands of miles just to eat at Taco Bell or Subway. Really? Is that on any of your lists of top things to do for people visiting the U.S.?

Before I chuckle too much at people wanting to eat good ol’ American fast food and meet a modern-day John Wayne, I thought it would be interesting to think about what we’d want to experience if we go another country – not the typical “1,000 Things To Do Before You Die,” but local foods, stores or events that we wouldn’t want to miss.

For example: I wanted to experience a Deep Fried Mars Bar in Scotland, walking the streets of Paris with French baguettes in white paper bags sticking out of my canvas bag, and High Tea at Harrod’s in London, and I’ve now done all these things. Other things on my list: Go shopping in a food market in Italy (and stay in a place where I can do my own cooking), eat off a street cart in China and take a photo of a restaurant menu (from anywhere outside the U.S.) that offers bugs on their menu. On this last item, note that I said just ‘take a photo’ vs. actually eat the bugs. Eating bugs is nowhere on my list of things to do.

While the things on our to-do lists may raise an eyebrow to the locals, just as the visit to Taco Bell elicits a “You’re kidding!” response from an American, it’s often these small things that give us the most enjoyment in our travels.

So what’s on your list of non-top-tourist things for your international travels that you won’t be happy unless you do?

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

Want to lessen your packing time? Here’s a smart way to arrange your closet that will significantly cut down on the time spent selecting which clothes and jewelry to bring along. Add your tips for smart packing advice in the comment section below.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

Would you like a tip that could reduce the size of your bag of liquids when you travel?

Carol Margolis shows her favorite tip for getting maximum days out of a small bottle of hair conditioner.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

Make use of sample and travel-sized items found in drugstores and cosmetics counters. They take up so much less space than a full-sized product and it can be fun to try something new.

Apps and cell phones are a traveler’s best friend. Whether you need a map, directions to a restaurant or wait times at airport security or theme parks, chances are there’s an app available.

Read a bit about your destination ahead of time to get a basic feel for the geography, history and local culture of a place. Even if traveling for business, it makes the city come alive when you know a few interesting facts.

Travel “doubles” – have an extra set of all toiletry and make-up items pre-packed in a travel bag. That way, everything will be packed the morning you leave and you won’t have to worry about forgetting to throw that eyeliner, hairspray or shampoo into your bag.

White-noise machines drown out the sound of traffic, loud televisions and hallway noise in your hotel. It is an investment well spent. White-noise apps for your smart phone are also available.

Over-the-door shoe organizers are great for hanging on the hotel bathroom door to hold all your toiletries. The plastic compartments keep everything visible as well as eliminate countertop clutter.

Mobile phone cameras are great for taking a photo of where you parked your car at the airport, what your rental car looks like and where you parked it when at a large mall or tourist attraction, as well as your passport number for easy access.

Emergency contact numbers, such as credit card companies and the closest Embassy if you are traveling abroad, should be carried with you at all times, somewhere other than your luggage or wallet in case they are lost or stolen.

Neutral colors like black, brown and khaki can be mixed with colorful blouses, tops and scarves to create many looks for women travelers and reduce the amount of clothing packed.

Taxi drivers can provide a wealth of information on local attractions, restaurants and current events. Ask “if you were taking your family to a special, where would you go?”

Roll your clothing items, instead of folding, to create more space in your suitcase and less wrinkles in your clothing.
Advance packing, at least the night before for a business trip and a few days ahead for a family vacation, will ensure you don’t forget something. A travel checklist works great for this.

Volunteer in the local community. If you find yourself going to the same locations, or have an extra day during a conference, consider giving your time and experience to a worthy cause. 

Eat like the locals. Support local farmers and fishermen by finding restaurants, markets, co-ops and farms that provide local, sustainable and organic products. And experience foods that you just can’t find at home.

Leave tips daily for your hotel maid. You may have a different maid each day so do not wait until the last day to leave the tip for the entire stay.

Extra Ziploc and plastic shopping bags always come in handy for packing liquid items, wet bathing suits, seashells and dirty clothes.

Reinvent plastic bill boxes and contact lens cases. Both are small, portable and close securely. Use pill boxes for jewelry and small items and contact lens cases for small amounts of liquids, such as eye make-up remover and hair gel.

Social networks can be used to get ideas and opinions on restaurants, hotels and attractions. Chances are somebody in your virtual address book of Facebook friends and Twitter followers will have been where you’re planning to go.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

My daughter was famous for this. At any time – and usually when I was at my most tired state of body and mind – I could hear, “It’s because you’re never home!” These words literally felt like a stab to my heart. Even though my kids are now in their 20’s, I still remember these days like they were yesterday.

I have always wished that there had been two of me, one to stay at home with the family and one to be traveling. Since cloning of people wasn’t an option, I packed my bag and off I went. I love my kids, love my work, love the travel and love the income that has been able to provide well for us. I just don’t love the pang of feeling my own self-inflicted guilt or hearing the “because you’re never home” words.

I did several things that helped keep the connection with all of us. So much more can be done with the technology available today. Here are a few ideas if you find yourself in this gut-wrenching situation:

• Bring your kids along if and when you can. Bring your spouse, nanny or other caregiver to be with them while you’re working. Or ask your hotel’s concierge for assistance in bringing in a trustworthy, proven, recommended child care provider to be with them at the hotel.

I would bring along the kids’ nanny, arrange for room service to be brought in at lunch time and then spend the evening with them, keeping the working hours as limited as possible. This works well when the kids were on a school break and are old enough to keep themselves occupied with games and movies.

One of my kids’ first stays was at a Holiday Inn in Minneapolis. For months after that, every time they’d see a Holiday Inn sign, they’d yell “Minneapolis!” no matter what city we were in.

Hotels with kitchens or kitchenettes are great because you can bring in a few of their favorite food items and keep things in the refrigerator. A favorite hotel when bringing along the kids is the Residence Inn and similar type of property.

• Try to work your schedule to be home on their important days – birthdays, first day of school, etc. Also read up on 3 Simple Ways to Take the Pain Out of Business Travel – for Traveling Moms.
• Set up Skype-time in the evenings to talk about their day, go over homework, plan the next day and just talk. Give each child their own time with you on the phone, even set up different calls for each one (kids love a special call just for them).
• Have one-on-one time with each child when you are home. Take them out to breakfast or lunch or go shopping. Again, they love private time with mom. This is also the time when any issues brewing with your child hopefully come out so you can address them when you’re having a relaxed time together.
• Go over your schedule with them as to the actual hours that you’ll really not be available to them while you’re away. For example, if you weren’t traveling, you’d see them at breakfast and dinner and a few hours in the evenings. The rest of the time, they’d be in school and you’d be at an office. For each day away, this might add up to maybe 4-5 hours that you’re not with your family (realistically even less if your kids are anything like mine and love to hide away in their bedrooms).

Replace this with a call in the morning before school, and a longer Skype session in the evening. Yes, you have a deficit of a dozen hours or so for the days you’ll be away, but that’s a much easier amount of time to bear than saying it was an entire four days that you’re weren’t around.

• Talk with your children’s teachers and agree on a communication method. Some schools offer online access to homework assignments and upcoming projects, which is great whether you’re on the road or not. Otherwise, arrange for emails or phone calls on a regular basis. Even though your kids may not like you communicating with their teachers, it is a great way to keep on top of schoolwork and helps squash your child’s excuse that they didn’t get a project done because mom wasn’t around to remind them of it.
• Come up with alternatives to some of your business trips. Teleconferences, working at home when your project or tasks will allow it, and brainstorming alternative ways to be efficient with the travel while getting your work accomplished are all ideas that usually can reduce the travel a bit.

For example, I was implementing inventory control systems for years. I found that most companies really struggled with managing their inventory counts once the implementation had been completed.

Instead of me traveling back and forth to these companies for further work, I created a business model for assisting companies remotely, a few hours each week per company. This was less overwhelming to them, we could really focus on constant improvements, and it allowed me to work from home more often.

If you’re not sure if your boss will go with the idea of less travel, read the The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris. There are tons of great ideas on how to approach more remote work with your employer.

There’s no way to remove all of the guilt we moms inflict upon ourselves as we stare out the plane window flying away from home or sitting in our hotel room at night after a long day of business meetings. Hopefully these ideas will plant some seeds on ways that you and your kids can stay more connected even when miles physically separate you.

And if you want to know how my kids turned out, even with a mom who traveled much of their lives – well, they’re wonderful adults now, independent, hard-working, well-traveled, and a true joy to be with. And my daughter, who could really throw the heart-wrenching daggers when she was a teenager, now considers me her best friend.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeatt and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com

Here’s an even easier way to get to FlightStats that’s so easy you don’t even need to remember the name of Flightstats. Just enter your flight number in a Google search window and it automagically comes up with Flightstats!

Click on the Flightstats link and you’ll go directly to their page where more information about the flight is shown.

Not only are the departure and arrival details easily viewable, but so are related items such as terminal and gate, airport delays, weather, and more.

For easy entry in the Google search window, enter your airline’s name (Continental in my example) or their code (CO). Either will work.

Since Google is the primary search tool for so many of us, this is an easy, peasy way of finding your airline status without knowing any of the airline info websites.

If you can’t get to your doctor or one of these stores for the flu shot, you’ve now got more choices. Airports across the country are now offering flu shots for travelers. A few airports are listed below, with more to come as flu season kicks in.

In the Orlando airport, my home base, Solantic Walk-In Clinic is offering flu shots. They’re located in the main terminal on the B Side.

The San Diego airport also gives a flu shot or a pertussis vaccination while you wait for your flight. The vaccines will be available to the general public, ticketed passengers and employees for a fee. The service will be offered daily at six pre-security and post-security locations in Terminals one and two and is expected to continue through early next year.

If you’re traveling through the heart of the country, the Des Moines International Airport offers flu shots for the fourth year in a row. Find health workers on the lower level of the airport terminal.

Talk with your doctor on whether getting a flu shot is right for you. If so, your excuse for not having time to get it done because of too much travel just doesn’t fly (no pun intended). Ask at your airport if they have an onsite clinic.

To learn more about the flu and how it relates to us travelers, go to FLU.gov.

Post a comment if an airport you’re traveling through offers flu shots so we can pass the word on to other travelers.

I remember a time years ago when my parents were in Mexico but their travelers checks were still home in Chicago (I’m sure my dad didn’t let my mom forget about this mistake for years!). They happened to arrive in Mexico on a weekend when there was a Monday holiday, so it was awhile before the banks were open for them to get the funds they needed. It’s easier now with ATM machines all over, but everything else is still affected by holidays.

Wikipedia is a great source for holidays by country.