Booking Flights:

• If you’re planning a trip and have plenty of time, check out fare-predicting web sites.  These web sites predict whether or not you should purchase your flight at that time or wait because fares will likely come down. To learn how fare-predicting web sites work, visit this link.
• When you’re booking a flight, investigate all of your pricing options, including both the actual airline web site and various travel search engines. Kayak is my favorite because it’s easy to search flights based on arrival and departure times!
  •  http://www.bing.com  
  •  http://www.kayak.com  
  •  www.priceline.com  
  •  www.travelocity.com
  •  http://www.yapta.com
• Before flying, check the cost of checking baggage with your airline. Most airlines charge a fee for checking your bags, so if you’re going on a short trip, pack light and try to bring a carry-on suitcase.   As of June 1, 2010, the airlines that are not charging for checked baggage include Delta (if you have their Delta American Express credit card), Southwest, and Jet Blue. 
  • Airfare Watch Dog is a great web site to subscribe to and always has updated information about checked bagged fees and good flight deals. http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/

Driving to your Destination:

•  Renting a car and driving to your destination is sometimes the best way to go! Not only can it be the easiest part of your trip to plan, but you can make numerous reservations while locking in at that price, then continue to comparison shop.  You can also search rental car companies using any of the travel search engine websites mentioned under flights. Some tips when renting a car are:
  • If you’re renting a car at your destination, be sure that the rental car agency is open when you land, especially if you land late at night.
  • A few things to note when renting a car:
    • Taxes are going to be a majority of your cost.
    • If you have a portable GPS, bring it with you! Or, if you’ll be renting a car and needing a GPS for over a week, look into buying one.  The cost to rent a GPS is about $15 a day so purchasing one is usually the most cost effective way to go.
    • It is possible to pick up the rental car in one location and drop it off in another, but more than likely you’ll be charged a drop-off fee of about $100.  If you’re looking to pick up a rental car in one state and return it in another, there are only a few rental car companies (National, Alamo, Hertz and a few others) that do this and it is much more expensive.

Flying vs. Driving:

• If you’re deciding whether to fly or drive visit the Fuel Cost Calculator at http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com to help with your decision.  This web site has the average cost per gallon for each area of the U.S. and will calculate your total fuel costs from start to finish.

Staying Organized:

•  Keep one packing list and add to it each time you pack for a trip.  Keeping one list is helpful and will ensure you don’t forget anything.  When it’s time to pack, take out the list and go through each item and only include the items needed.
• If you’re planning on traveling with a group and everyone is doing research, keep a master Google Doc (http://docs.google.com).  This will help keep everyone informed, organized and won’t clog everyone’s email inbox.
  

Traveling Abroad:

• Traveling internationally is always fun, but requires much more planning.  Some quick things to remember – your passport, a travel VISA if you’ll need one for the countries you’re visiting, power adapters, and the country’s currency. Also, don't forget to call your credit card company and let them know you will be using you credit card out of the country.
  

These are some tips and tricks I’ve learned and I hope that they can help you in your next trip.  If you have any additional tips that you’d like to share, please feel free to email me at gleon@phimu.org and we’ll add them to the list!  Enjoy your trip and remember if you see a quatrefoil or a lion, email aglaia@phimu.org to submit your photo for an opportunity to be included in the next issue of the Aglaia!