Trip Coach: March 27, 2006

We've noticed that when booking a flight for our family under one reservation, some airlines will only credit the 1,500 bonus miles (500 for booking online, 500 each way for printing boarding passes) to the person whose name the reservation is under. This is regardless of whether the other family members have mileage accounts. To avoid this, make a separate reservation for each of your family members and then pick seats together.

If you're a woman traveling alone, or your accommodations don't inspire confidence, simply wedge a small rubber doorstop at the base of the door when you're inside the room. It'll be virtually impossible to open the door from the outside.

Some people think that traveler's checks aren't necessary anymore, but they really can be useful in a variety of situations. My ATM card wouldn't work on Easter Island, where most restaurants did not accept credit cards and wanted to be paid in pesos. Luckily, our hotel cashed my traveler's checks and gave me the pesos I needed. On Dominica, my purse was stolen. But because I had traveler's checks stashed away in my luggage, the vacation wasn't ruined. I always travel with what I call the "trusty four": American dollars (lots of ones and fives divided up and hidden in several locations), traveler's checks, an ATM card, and a credit card.

It's easy to lose track of time in a windowless interior cabin. Before going to sleep, tune into the ship's bridge-camera channel for real-time videos of the front (or bow) of the boat. The screen will act like a virtual porthole, and you'll rise and shine with the sunrise.

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.

When I'm planning a trip, I almost always call the hotel concierge before I arrive, and if my hotel doesn't have one, I call a hotel that does. Recently, I asked for advice on what to see since I only had four days in a new city. I told the concierge what I thought I should try to do, and she said I had too many things packed into four days. She gave me a list of hot spots to visit and places to avoid, and even recommended a florist to call on for fresh flowers. With her help, my trip was far more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise.

I've created files--some general (Southeast Asia), some specific (Hawaii)--for articles and clippings about places I'd like to visit in the future. I don't want all the good tips, restaurant recommendations, and out-of-the-ordinary itineraries to go to waste just because I'm not planning an immediate trip. The files don't have to be super organized--just throw in the clippings, and you can weed through them later. You'll be glad you have the information when you do get a chance to go away.

Put your perfume and cologne bottles inside pairs of rolled-up socks to keep them cushioned during your journey.

If I plan to travel to several countries that use different currencies, I pack a few cloth change purses: U.S. dollars go into one, British pounds in another, euros in a third, etc. When I'm sightseeing, I carry only the money I need; the purses that I'm not using are locked away in the hotel safe. I avoid fumbling around in shops and mixing up coins that look alike. Plus,I always know exactly how much cash I have.

Put an address label on your one-time-use camera. At a Final Four game in Indianapolis, we exchanged identical Kodak Fun Savers with another traveler so that we could take souvenir photos of each other with our respective cameras. But afterward, we couldn't tell whose camera was whose. Luckily, I remembered how many exposures remained on mine, so we got ours back. Next time, I'll just label it.

A beach ball can replace many expensive in-flight gadgets. Depending on how much you inflate it, the ball can function as a very comfortable footrest, a back support, or a lap pillow to support your book.

Check fares periodically after booking your airfare. The airline may have a sale, and buying new tickets could save you money, even after you pay the change penalty. My wife and I used Travelocity's Fare Finder to pocket $187 each on a recent trip from Seattle to New York City, simply by re-ticketing.

It's often cheaper to buy a ticket to London and then fly onward within Europe via a regional low cost airline. Last summer, my husband and I bought consolidator tickets to London for $397. From there, we flew EasyJet to Nice for $72. The total cost was $469—much less than flying directly to Nice, plus we enjoyed a stopover in London.

Public libraries in the ports of Alaska are a tremendous money-saver. Who wants to pay $5 a minute for Internet use from a cruise ship? During a port stop on a recent Alaska cruise, we found a city library that offered free Internet use for 15 to 30 minutes. Our only cost was a short wait in line.

If you get lost on a ship, remember that most share a common layout. The lido-deck buffet restaurant, for example, will almost always be in the back to accommodate comfortable outdoor seating in the least windy part of the ship, while the lounge/theater will be in the front because wind is not a factor (there are no windows).

Whenever my husband and I get new pairs of eyeglasses, we relegate the old ones to our luggage, along with an inexpensive repair kit from the drugstore. If something happens while we're away from home, we can hopefully fix the glasses ourselves. If they're beyond saving, we have the backup pairs to get us through the rest of the trip.

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.

I've discovered a wonderful way to enjoy massages at a fraction of the usual cost. Some massage-training schools provide superb service in a spa-type environment. Do a Google search to see if there are training programs near your next vacation destination.

I travel with a mailing tube in my suitcase because I often buy paintings, drawings, and maps. My souvenirs always arrive home safe and sound. I just leave the mailing tube in my suitcase until the next trip.

Before traveling by taxi in foreign (or even domestic) locations, ask a local (perhaps stopping in shops to question the sales staff) what the approximate taxi fare would be to a particular location. They've always been pleased to help me. In this manner, I can avoid paying the inflated tourist rates!

Before I embark on a trip, I cover the dirt of my potted plants with plastic bags after watering them well. (Cut a few slits in the bags and keep plants out of direct sunlight.) The soil will stay damp for about three weeks.

Pack a couple of mountaineering carabiners. Clip one through the handle or strap of your bag and secure it to something solid wherever you may be (to a bench in the park or in a train station, to the railing of an overhead compartment on a bus, etc.).The carabiner adds a bit of security, especially if you're snoozing.

To feed a family of four in a very expensive tropical location like Anguilla or Bermuda (or most other Caribbean locations, for that matter), check to see if your hotel has phone books and look up the local pizza place. Nine times out of ten the pizza purveyors will deliver for free. You'll end up spending no more than $20 on pizza, bread sticks, and soda.

Save major bucks by going onto eBay and purchasing coupons and gift certificates that others don't want or can't use for lodging, transportation, food, and admissions. I've found great discounts for airline and Amtrak tickets; car rentals; entrance to amusement parks such as SeaWorld, Disney, or Universal Studios; as well as overnights at many hotels. For example, I bought a $30 savings coupon at SeaWorld for only $1. Simply search for your destination and then type in "coupon" or "gift certificate."

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.

To find a reasonably priced villa or apartment to rent, try going directly to the owner through a site such as abritel.fr. (Click on the British flag for English.) I arranged to spend two weeks in an apartment in Brittany and one week in an apartment in the Loire Valley, all for a total of $800.

Flight attendants often work vampire hours and have to sleep during the day. How do we keep the sunlight from leaking into our hotel rooms? We clip a skirt hanger (or two) to the middle of the drapes to seal them together.

Create an ID page for each of your children before you leave on a trip. In addition to vacation contact information (hotel name and phone number), include the child's name, a current photo, home address, phone, date of birth, Social Security number, passport number, hair color, eye color, height, any identifying marks, blood type, allergies, medications, doctor and insurance phone numbers and ID numbers, immunization schedule, and fingerprints (these don't change, so investing the time to have a set made is worth it). If the unspeakable happens, the ability to hand over instant, concise information to authorities may prove invaluable. Update it before every trip.

When on vacation, I split my cash into envelopes, one per day, so I can keep track of how much I'm spending. If I need to dig into the next day's cash, I'll know that I've overdone it, and if I want to stay on budget, I'll have to cut back the next day. Any money left at the end of the day goes into a separate envelope. I've actually come home with money this way!

Ask your flight attendants for dining, lodging, shopping, and sightseeing advice. Most crews have up to the minute information gleaned from layovers, which they're more than happy to share with passengers. You can count on flight attendants to seek out budget treasures. I know—I've been married to one for more than 21 years!