Sydney: Bondi to Coogee

If your children are old enough to dress themselves, consider this packing tip: Put each outfit (including socks and underwear) into a Ziploc bag and pack one bag for each day you'll be on vacation. It will save both time and aggravation, and may even prevent items from getting left behind.

Whenever I'm in a country where drinking or brushing my teeth with the tap water is a risk, I cover the faucet handles in my hotel bathroom with a towel. As a result, I never accidentally turn on the faucet when I'm half asleep.

Before setting off on one of my many backpacking excursions, I head to Kinko's to rebind my guidebook. I replace the cover with a plain black or navy one. It costs about $6 and allows me to blend in much better while traveling. People see my new book as a journal, not a travel guide that labels me a tourist.

Destinationcoupons.com supplies free discount coupons for cities all over the United States and the world. Print them out on your home computer and save on hotels, shows, rental cars, restaurants, and many other activities.

A company called Orikaso makes brightly colored polypropylene sheets that can be folded--kind of like origami--to form a dish, bowl, or cup. The sheets are lightweight and reusable, and you simply flatten them when you're finished. We found ours at a sporting goods store, but you can also buy them online. Check orikaso.com for retailers.

I carry bilingual takeout menus when traveling to countries like China, Korea, and Vietnam. When I'm at a restaurant with no menu (or one that I can't read), I give mine to the waiter so he can point to dishes they can prepare. I've learned to pack a few extra menus, as the restaurants often like to keep a copy.

On international flights, I used to fumble through my belongings--often having to retrieve them from the overhead bin--after a flight attendant appeared with customs and immigration forms. (I don't know of many people who have their passport's number and date of issue memorized.) Now I write all that info on the bookmark of whatever I plan to read on the long flight so I don't have to dig out my passport. I can fill out the card quickly--giving me more time to loan my pen to all the people who never seem to carry one.

My husband and I create personal cards (like business cards) before we leave home. We put our name, address, phone, and email address on them, as well as a picture of us. How many people have gotten home from a trip, looked at a slip of paper with a name and address, and wondered, Who is this? The picture helps link a name to a face.

Scuba-diving vacations can get expensive. As I start planning a trip, I call one of the local PADI dive shops and ask the employees about accommodations nearby. They give me hotel connections I couldn't find on my own, and I often save enough to pay for my dives.

After looking for years for the perfect toiletries bag and being frustrated by many that were less than ideal, I finally discovered one that is just right: a soft-sided lunch box I bought at the supermarket. It has an outer zipped pocket with small compartments and slots perfect for often-used items like a toothbrush and toothpaste. There's a small removable zipper pouch inside (meant for a small ice pack) for those smaller, hard-to-find items like nail files and pill bottles. The remaining space inside is just right for larger items like shampoo and hand lotion. Other helpful features include both a small handle and shoulder strap and a waterproof, easy-to-clean interior. As an elementary school teacher, I know firsthand that it'll last: It was designed to withstand daily use by kids!

When looking for the lowest airfare, I've found that in some cases the best rates pop up when searching for one traveler instead of two. Recently, I wanted to buy one-way tickets from New York to Orlando for two people and came up with $87 per person. But when I selected one traveler, the fare dropped to $72.

Check out worldclimate.com to find monthly average temperatures and rainfall for thousands of cities worldwide. You can avoid countries during their rainy seasons, and the information is useful for figuring out what to pack.

Quotetravelinsurance.com gives you comparable details on more than one hundred travel-insurance plans, enabling you to make the best buy. It relies on ratings from insurance industry overseers such as A.M. Best and state insurance commissioners before allowing an insurance company into its extensive lineup.

I carry recipe cards with me to jot down interesting dishes I come across while on vacation. (I also like to use colorful postcards from the area I'm visiting and trim them to fit my recipe box.) Here's a wonderful dessert idea I brought home after spending a rainy afternoon with my husband in a London pub: Top a warm waffle with vanilla ice cream, maple syrup, and chopped pecans. It's heaven with a cup of hot tea.

I take each of my grandchildren on a road trip the summer each turns twelve. The trips range in length from two weeks to a month and require careful packing. I've learned to put our clothes and any snack items we'll need in large plastic bins that fit in the back of my minivan. We each bring a small bag and pack it every evening with items we'll need for that night and the next day: no lugging heavy suitcases in and out of motels or hotels.

Before I visit poorer countries, I pop into a thrift store and pick up some toys, stuffed animals, and an old suitcase or carryall. I try to avoid toys like Easter bunnies or Santas, which could be offensive, and expensive things that might embarrass parents. The contents of my extra bag bring joy to countless kids who have never had a thing.

Consider asking your driver or tour guide to haggle on your behalf at bazaars and souks. (But don't let them lead you to places where they might have a connection to the shopkeeper.) The money you tip them will usually be less than the markup on prices for tourists.

Pack a power strip and extension cord for your next cruise. Many cruise-ship cabins have only one out- let, but you'll definitely need more if you want to power up your laptop, iPod, cell phone, electric razor, hairdryer, or any other gadgets you bring on board.

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.

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.

Before leaving for a vacation, I print out all our reservations and directions, and I create a contact sheet for emergencies. Then I gather all the papers together, punch some holes, and place them in a folder that has a middle section for three–holed papers. The side pockets hold brochures, business cards, ticket stubs, receipts, and maps that we collect along the way and want to bring home for our scrapbook.

Carry a twist tie in your wallet. Among other ingenious uses, a twist tie can temporarily replace a lost screw on a pair of glasses. Just peel the paper or plastic off the tie so you have bare wire, insert it where the screw once was, and twist to tighten. Unlike Scotch tape or a safety pin, a twist tie is small enough to remain hidden and strong enough to hold until you're able to replace the screw.

When I'm packing to leave a hotel room, I turn the bedding down to the foot of the bed so that the white sheets are facing up. This way, items placed on the bed are clearly visible. I once left a camera behind because I couldn't see it against a very dark bedspread.

I was heading to the hotel ice machine when I noticed that our ice bucket was looking very tired and missing its disposable plastic liner. My solution: the shower cap that we never use anyway. In fact, it actually worked better than the liner bag because the elastic band held it in place around the top of the bucket.

I enjoy off-peak travel best--rates are cheaper, lines are shorter--but the weather can be iffy. To combat Mother Nature's unpredictability, I always pack a roll or two of black-and-white film. While dreary-day color photos bring only consoling remarks from friends, black-and-white film tends to lend a mystique to gray landscapes and creates some very dramatic Ansel Adams--esque shots.

When planning a vacation, we send away for brochures from major tour operators. They provide hotel and restaurant recommendations and sightseeing itineraries, which we then duplicate on our own. Use this trick to mimic the vacation packages of high-end tour operators for what can turn out to be a fraction of the cost.

Give your children a coach's whistle in case they get lost; put it on a ribbon so they can wear it around their neck. The piercing sound may be annoying, but you'll definitely find them quicker!

Many tourist information offices provide discounted same-day booking services for local lodgings. My husband and I discovered this when we accidentally left a midweek gap in our travel plans between my husband's conference hotel and our B&B in Charleston. Instead of adding another night at either location, we stayed at one of the more elegant inns (normally over $200) for $70, courtesy of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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.

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.