Snap Guide: Paris

When carrying around my small umbrella, I put it in a Ziploc bag. After using it, I can store the umbrella, back inside the Ziploc, in my shoulder bag without getting everything else soaked.

My husband and I always travel around Europe by train. When we arrive in any city, we first stop at a ticket window and get all the information we'll need for the next leg of our journey. This gives us plenty of time to find an English-speaking ticket agent who'll print out departure times and platform numbers for us. Before leaving the station, we can note the location of the platform we'll be looking for that morning. One wrong move when you're rushing for a train and you could end up in the wrong city!

The middle seat isn't always awful. On a recent trip overseas, I called too late to confirm an aisle or window seat. After explaining the plane's AB-CDEFG-HI configuration, the customer service agent urged me to take the very middle seat, E, because D and F have less foot room. (In some rows, there are metal boxes underneath the seats in front of you that house wiring for onboard electronics.) I went along with her advice somewhat skeptically, but I ended up with plenty of room. The people on either side of me weren't so lucky.

I unpacked a pair of black slacks recently to find them covered with white fuzz. I didn't have a lint brush handy, so I used the luggage sticker from my bag--the gummy side took the lint right off.

Don't assume you can save a spot at the pool with your towel. Cruise lines give you one pool towel at the start of the cruise. If you don't have it (or a cleaned trade-in) at the end, you'll get charged. If you let it out of your sight, you run the risk of losing it or having it stolen by a fellow cruiser.

My husband cut an old contact lens case in two and uses the halves to carry his medication when we're traveling. He prefers them to regular pillboxes because lens cases are watertight and compact enough to carry inside a shirt pocket.

Even if you're staying at a standard resort hotel, take advantage of the day passes sold by many all-inclusive resorts (i.e., the right to use their facilities--such as swimming pools and beach chairs--and enjoy their meals for a day). The passes are primarily designed for cruise passengers on day trips but can be obtained by anyone for very little money. For persons staying in a less-expensive, no-frills hotel, it can give you the experience of a larger, more extensive resort for a day or two.

If you start to feel a painful blister coming on, put some lip balm or Vaseline on the hot spot--it'll help stop the rubbing.

Tell me I'm not alone: Almost every time I park my car at the airport, I have trouble finding it when I return. (I even reported my car stolen once after searching for hours, only to discover I was in the wrong lot!) I now use my cell phone to leave myself a message as to where I've parked my car.

When traveling with your kids, give each child his or her own small carry-on bag. Fill it with new, surprise treats to occupy the downtime--layovers, long flights, time in hotels--as well as a few familiar items from home. Include a notebook and encourage your child to keep a travel diary.

My husband packs Q-tips in a plastic cassette case. It's small and snaps shut, keeping the cotton swabs clean and dry.

Don't be afraid to go to a foreign pharmacy. I forgot to pack my prescription medication on a recent trip to France. When my problem acted up, I went to a local pharmacy. (Look for the green cross.) The pharmacist provided my medication without a prescription and at a fraction of what it would have cost in the United States. In fact, one could benefit by stocking up abroad on medications that would normally be acquired at home at a much higher price.

Online check-in isn't just for airlines. After reserving an Alamo car over the Internet, I was offered online check-in just by entering my credit card number and driver's license information for approval. At the airport, following Alamo's instructions, I informed the shuttle-bus driver that I had checked in online and reserved an economy car. I was dropped off in the lot and told to pick whichever car I wanted. I drove it to the exit, where my credit card and driver's license were verified on the computer, and I was done.

Here's an important tip for cruising in winter: Fly into the port a day or two before your ship is scheduled to depart. We booked a Costa Rican cruise but were stuck in New York, where all flights out of JFK airport were canceled. Itineraries that include stops in places with airports can allow people to catch up. Ours didn't.

We've traveled to both Mexico and China in the last year and had the same experience in both countries: When we tried to exchange dollars to local currency, the banks wouldn't take bills with graffiti on them--telephone numbers, names, doodles, anything. Nor would they accept any bills that were torn or damaged. (We noticed a group from France having the same problem with their euros.) So before you leave home, make sure that any money you plan on exchanging is absolutely crisp and clean--or better yet, ask your bank specifically for brand-new bills.

Create your own postcards by writing on the back of photographs that you've taken and developed while still on your trip.

When you change your clocks back or forward, be sure to check the expiration date on all your frequent-flier miles. This way they're checked twice a year. We overlooked one of the many accounts in our household and lost a free ticket when the miles expired.

In areas where the majority of people don't speak English, head to an Internet café. In our experience, they're full of friendly young people anxious to practice their English.

I always pack a Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp. It's small, weighs next to nothing, and is perfect for reading in bed at night without disturbing my husband. They're sold online and at outdoor-gear stores for about $33.

Our bags have been stolen twice from inside locked rental cars. Now we travel with a bicycle cable and lock. If we absolutely have to leave our suitcases in the car, I hook them together by the handles and attach the whole thing to the frame of a seat or a secure item in the trunk. Even if thieves manage to get into our car, the cable will make it very difficult for them to make off with the luggage.

I'm a gadget freak, and I don't like to travel without things like my digital camera and iPod. On one trip, though, I put my camera down in a crowded restaurant and then forgot to put it back in my bag. By the time I remembered it, the camera was long gone. Now, I attach those kinds of items to my daypack with a lanyard. They're still easy to pull out and use, and they never get left behind.

If you're headed to a country that requires a visa, ask the consulate of that country, in the United States, whether visas are also issued at the airport there on arrival. In many cases (like Turkey and Egypt), they are. Obtaining the visa on arrival is a much simpler procedure and a real money-saver: You do not have to have photographs taken (they figure your passport already has a photo), you do not pay a hefty fee to the U.S.-situated consulate of the country, you avoid the expense and risk of mailing your passport to that consulate in advance of departure, and you avoid the expense of using a visa-acquiring company in the United States. But be sure the consulate is correct that the visa can easily be obtained on arrival.

When seeking a cheap airfare, don't forget to consult the Web sites of the major charter tour operators--like Apple Vacations, TNT Vacations, Vacation Express, or SunTrips--which frequently sell air-only tickets in addition to air-and-hotel packages. Doing so helped me slash the cost of round-trip airfare to visit my mother in Las Vegas by well over 50 percent.

We like to buy shipboard souvenirs, so we try to choose a ship that's completing its run of an area--that's when merchandise is generally put on sale. Last year, for example, on a sailing in South America, all of the T-shirts, glassware, and rain jackets were 75 percent off.

Try to book the first flight out in the morning, because those planes often arrive at the airport the evening before. You won't have to rely on an incoming plane, which could be delayed or canceled due to bad weather elsewhere, resulting in your own flight being delayed or canceled.

If you're traveling with a companion, pack half of your belongings in his or her suitcase and vice versa. This way, if one piece of luggage gets lost, you'll each still have some clothing.

Finding the bathroom in the middle of the night in a strange hotel room or cruise-ship cabin can be a challenge. Leaving the bathroom light on seems wasteful and makes the room too bright for sleeping. My husband and I used to travel with a night-light, but we couldn't always find a convenient place to plug it in. We've recently discovered a better solution: plastic light sticks. They come in several glow-in-the- dark colors and are activated by bending the tube into a circle and connecting the ends. Each evening, we hook one of the loops over the bathroom-door handle, where it provides a gentle glow through the night.

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In order to provide any reimbursement for a lost suitcase, most airlines and insurance companies require an itemized list of exactly what was inside it. Unfortunately, remembering everything you packed after the fact is virtually impossible. To avoid the headache, take pictures of the items you're going to put in your suitcase with your digital camera or cell phone. The photos will make creating the list a breeze, and, in the event of a dispute with the airline or insurance agent, you have some visual evidence of ownership.

If you're packing a lunch to eat later in the day, freeze a 16-ounce water bottle and pack it, along with yogurt, cottage cheese, a ham sandwich, or whatever in a light- weight, insulated bag. Your snacks will remain cold, and you can drink the water.