Buenos Aires: Recoleta

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.

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.

The help of a concierge at an expensive hotel is available even if you're staying at a motel across the street. Go to the concierge with $5 (or whatever the assistance is worth to you) held discreetly but visibly in your hand. Chances are you won't be asked whether you're staying at the hotel. This worked for us once when we were stranded by a blizzard. We tried to rebook our flights on our own, but phones at the airlines were busy for two days straight. The concierge at a fancy hotel a few blocks away got through on his first try and managed to rearrange our flights for us.

Get the right maps. For road trips on the Continent, European maps are much more helpful when it comes to reading road signs. They'll say Napoli instead of Naples, Firenze rather than Florence. I could spend all day waiting for a road sign for Munich and miss the exit for Munchen.

Rather than automatically using your hotel's valet parking, you should check to see if there's an adjacent parking lot or garage that offers a better rate. On a recent trip, I was able to park across the street from my hotel for $10 per day--versus $27 per day to valet park with the hotel.

When not taking pictures, keep your memory card away from your camera. It's a simple method to ensure that any photographs you've shot will be safe even if your camera is stolen. My husband and I learned this lesson the hard way when we lost 250 shots of Kauai.

You can suspend more than your newspaper when you're away. On several occasions, DirecTV has agreed to put my account on hold while I was traveling--without penalties, additional fees, reconnection charges, or the like. So, instead of a monthly bill of $65, mine gets prorated.

I always take a digital picture of the gas gauge to prove that I returned the rental car with a full tank. Some agencies try to charge for a minimal amount of gas when they "top off" the tank (which you're not supposed to do anyway). I've used these digital photographs to get refunds for gas charges that appeared on my credit-card bill after the fact.

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.

If you go directly from the air-conditioned ship out onto the open-air deck (which is usually warmer and more humid in most cruise destinations), your camera's lens is likely to fog up. Warm the camera with your cabin's hairdryer on a low setting or briefly leave it out on your balcony so it can acclimate to the weather.

If you've accumulated more souvenirs on your trip than you can carry, drive your rental car up to curbside check-in, then return the vehicle and come back on the shuttle bus with only your carry-on. This only works if there's no check-in line, but can save dragging your luggage onto the shuttle bus, across parking lots, etc.

Try getting a discount on your hotel room by offering to pay in cash. A hotel reservationist suggested this approach when I phoned to reserve at a hotel in London. I asked if the hotel could grant a discount based on my AARP or AAA membership, as many hotels do in the United States. Her response was that the only discount she was able to offer was 10 percent if I paid in cash.

My friends and I contribute to a kitty and use that money to pay for group expenses such as taxis and meals. It saves us from having to figure out each person's share at every stop. At the end of the trip, we split what remains.

For overnight flights, pack a few Oral B Brush-Ups in your carry-on. Before the plane lands, you can "brush" your teeth, leaving you refreshed and ready for the day!

I find that hotel bathrooms rarely have enough hangers and hooks for clothes and wet towels, so I always bring a few snap-lock suction hooks. (They function better than regular suction hooks because they're more secure and are therefore able to hold heavier items.) It's always nice to have a place to hang a bathrobe.

I use an inexpensive, thumb-size USB flash drive to store medical and insurance contacts, confirmation codes, credit card numbers, addresses, and phone numbers. It fits in a secure zip pocket in my travel purse. If I don't have my laptop, I can insert the flash drive in most hotel or Internet café computers. Some USB flash drives password-protect your data, or you can download a free encryption program.

Whenever I go somewhere, I bring a supply of postcards from my hometown. I write my name, address, and e-mail on the back, and offer a card to new friends so we can keep in touch. I also pack small souvenirs (key rings, etc.) that carry my local sports teams' logos. They make meaningful but inexpensive thank-you gifts for the small kindnesses that ease one's way during a trip.

Pay close attention to those newsletters enclosed in your frequent-flier statements. They usually contain special offers and promotions that can earn you double or triple miles if you stay at a certain hotel or eat at a certain restaurant.

Instead of packing a complete shaving kit, my husband fills his wide-mouth Nalgene water bottle with items such as razors, spare contact lenses, eyeglasses, toothbrush, and so on. This turned out to be particularly useful on our trip to Costa Rica, where we also took the bottle on our day hikes to volcanoes and the jungle.

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 traveling solo and your room has a double bed, sleep on the side farthest from the phone. It's slept on less frequently and is therefore more comfortable.

Once the hotel shampoo bottles I always seem to bring home are empty, I refill them with my own brand of shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel--instead of buying travel-size containers at the drugstore. I toss them, along with other small items (toothbrush, toothpaste, nail file, pillboxes, and a comb), into a medium-size Ziploc bag, and I'm ready to go; the clear plastic lets me find things easily.

Sending a flat-rate Priority Mail box costs $8.10, no matter how much it weighs or which state it's going to. After accumulating too much stuff to fit in my suitcase during a trip to Atlanta, I filled a box with laundry, souvenirs, and gifts for my grandchildren, and mailed it to my home address.

On a trip to Molokai, the plane we were on was small, and luggage was crammed in every which way. At baggage claim, we noticed that someone had packed a bottle of Pine-Sol, and it had broken and leaked everywhere. Now we line our suitcases with garbage bags to protect our clothes—just in case. (It's also smart in case your bag gets left on the tarmac in a downpour.)

For the most comprehensive information regarding travel by train or by ship, check out seat61.com. I've found that the site has all sorts of helpful advice for Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

A small compass is a great travel aid. Aside from the obvious benefits during country drives or hikes, it's extremely helpful in navigating winding city streets and orienting yourself once you exit a subway station.

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.

My daughter and I bought disposable digital camcorders at a CVS pharmacy before going to Europe. It was a nice way to document our trip--each camera stored about 20 minutes of video. Once home, we dropped the cameras off at the pharmacy. The next day, our DVD was ready. We were very pleased with the quality and the cost: $30 for the camera and $13 for each DVD.

In order to keep track of my bags, I use a small metal bell--the kind dancers from India wear on their ankles. I thread it with fishing line and tie it to my carry-on. If anyone touches my bag after I set it down, the bell chimes. It's not a very obtrusive sound, but it's distinctive enough for me to notice if a thief is trying to get into my things. The same bell can be hung on the doorknob inside your hotel room.

Using restaurant.com, you can buy gift certificates good at eateries in your destination city, regularly snagging (in my experience) $25 certificates for as little as $5 to $8.The site is awesome, and it works as well for restaurant certificates in your own city and for obtaining gifts for friends.