souvenirs

If You're Traveling With These 8 Things, You're Overpacking

Deia B — Fri, 30 May 2014 08:36:31 +0000

Packing light doesn't just save you money on luggage fees; it also gives you more freedom to move around and explore. Here's the main thing to remember: It won't be a disaster if you don't have something when you need it during the trip.

Most of the time, you can simply buy it there. As a bonus, shopping somewhere new is an experience in itself — you get to explore the place as a local running an errand, and if you're traveling abroad, the packaging is a marvel! And speaking of shopping, you'll want to leave some empty space in that suitcase for all the souvenirs and gifts you do buy there. (See also: Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards)

Here are a few things you should leave behind when you leave home.

1. Lots of Clothes

Don't pack 20 outfits for a 20-day trip. No matter how long the trip is, you only really need one week's worth of clothes. Don't worry about running out of things to wear; you'll be able to do laundry during the trip. The hotel laundry may be pricey, but there will definitely be a laundromat or a sink that you can use.

Take out that busy top that you can only wear with one pair of pants. It's important that you'll be able to mix and match your clothes. If you'll be traveling somewhere cold, bring items that can be layered. (See also: 15 Packing Secrets From a Professional Hobo)

Consider the climate, the environment, and the culture at the destination. You won't need a coat in Singapore or a sequined dress in the Amazon. If you're traveling to religious sites, don't pack anything that may be considered inappropriate there.

2. Lots of Shoes

Resist the temptation to bring bulky dress shoes. You'll probably spend a lot of time on your feet, so you'll need comfortable shoes or sandals. If you plan to eat at a fancy restaurant, then bring a pair of heels or dressy flats. Three pairs of shoes should be enough to cover all occasions.

3. Toiletries

Most hotels and even some hostels provide basic toiletries, such as shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, and soap. They may not be your favorite brands, but they'll do the job. In the unlikely situation that they damage your skin or your hair, you can purchase other brands at the local drugstore.

Only bring the items that you absolutely won't get at the hotel and only bring enough to last for the length of the trip. For example, I have acne-prone skin, so I have a bunch of medicated products that I bought from a clinic. I transfer them into small travel-sized containers and bring them along with me wherever I go, but I leave behind all other bathroom items.

4. Expensive Accessories

Leave your diamond earrings and designer handbags at home. You'll be exploring unfamiliar places, and it'll be a lot safer without flashy items that could potentially mark you as a target.

If you want to wear your good jewelry to a special occasion like a destination wedding, then pack it in your carry-on bag. At the destination, leave it in the hotel safe when you're not wearing it. And because things can get lost despite your best efforts, check your travel insurance policy to see if it covers lost or stolen jewelry.

5. Hair Styling Tools

Hair dryers and curling irons take up a lot of space. Maybe the hair dryer at the hotel won't be as powerful as you like, but it will only take a few minutes longer to dry your hair. Your hair can probably use some rest from hot styling tools anyway.

If you can't style your hair as you usually do with the minimal tools you have in the hotel room, put it up in an easy updo. Or if you want to sport some curls, there are some no-heat curling methods that actually work pretty well.

6. Towels

It's nice to dry yourself off with a big fluffy towel after a hot shower. But you should take that towel out of your bag because the hotel probably has an endless supply of towels. And even if you'll be staying at a hostel that doesn't provide a towel, you can save space by bringing a lightweight microfiber towel instead.

7. Books

Your little e-reader can store more books than you can read in a year, so there's really no need to pack a real book. But if you have to, bring just one and visit the hotel library or a local bookstore when you finish it.

Instead of bringing a paper guidebook, choose a few important pages and photocopy them. Over time, I've found that I can get by with only the maps from the guidebook and some summarized notes on my smartphone.

8. Unnecessary Gadgets and Appliances

You may need a laptop for work, but will you also be using your tablet, e-reader, MP3 player, and all three cameras? Most gadgets are great at multitasking, so choose just a few of your favorite ones. You can read your e-book on your smartphone, for example. It won't be ideal, but it will only be for the duration of the trip.

You also probably won't need to bring small appliances like an iron, a steamer, a coffee maker, or a humidifier. Just because the the box says "travel water purifier" doesn't mean you have to bring it on an actual trip!

What do you leave behind when you travel? What do you wish you hadn't left behind? Please leave a comment below!

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This article is from Deia B of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Why You Should Never Buy Souvenirs

Kelly Kehoe — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:48:38 +0000

Tourism is a multibillion-dollar industry and souvenir sales make up a significant portion of that pie. If you’ve traveled at all, you’ve likely noticed gift stores on almost every corner in high-traffic, touristy areas and smaller vendors in less-traveled areas that welcome out of town visitors. There are no limits to what you may find in a souvenir shop: stuffed animals, clothing, shot glasses, or even "souvenir water" from places like Niagara Falls. (See also: The Easiest Way to Save Money on Vacation)

Most of these items are pretty useless, but we feel good when we buy souvenirs because we’re certain our friends and family back home will love them. But if your friend isn’t an avid keychain collector and your kids are too old for stuffed animals, is it really worth paying all that extra money for the sake of bringing back souvenirs? Or, to take it a step further, should you buy souvenirs at all?

I’d say no.

Zero "Obligation"

There is little utility value to most souvenir items, and yet we still find ourselves buying impractical, overpriced trinkets out of some sense of obligation to the folks back home. Remember that tourism is a highly profit-driven industry and extreme markups on cheap items (sometimes in excess of 50-60% of the item’s actual value) are commonplace. Travel is expensive enough; why squander Euros, rupees, yuan, etc. on souvenirs that will inevitably find their way to the back of someone’s closet?

Travel Hassle

In 2010, I was returning to the US from a month in Europe with a group of other exchange students. One girl bought a snow globe for her parents on the way to the airport, as a last-minute, obligatory souvenir. Unfortunately, it was bigger than the allowable "tennis ball size" snow globe and airport security promptly confiscated it. Since 9/11, the number of limits on carry-on items has skyrocketed, particularly where liquid or "sharp" items are concerned. Souvenirs present another hassle to already-hectic air travel plans, and, sometimes, you could be encouraging illegal activities without even realizing it.

"If you come across people selling wildlife or wildlife products, be aware that those 'souvenirs' could very well be endangered species that have been poached from the wild and are being sold illegally," Senior Policy Officer for U.S. Government Relations Will Gartshore said in a World Wildlife Fund article. This is especially true of the fur and ivory industries, which are targeting tourists who may not be aware of these illegal activities. Why risk it? Not buying souvenirs at all is a simple way to avoid this problem.

Worker Exploitation and Scams

In addition to animal-related incidents, there have been reports of worker exploitation on the fringes of the tourism industry. Allegations of souvenir companies overworking their laborers and exposing them to toxic chemicals in the factories have come to light, and New Zealand’s tourism industry recently experienced scandals involving mislabeled and overpriced "Made in New Zealand" rugs (that were really made by cheap laborers in Peru). These are only a few instances amongst many, and as a frugal tourist, remember that getting a bargain on souvenirs may have some unforeseen consequences.

Alternatives

But if you don’t want to avoid buying souvenirs altogether, there are a few, frugal ways to bring a little something back for your friends and family. Photos and maps are inexpensive and probably last longer than a cheap keychain. You could also bring back coasters and pens from hotels you stayed at, and places like Disney World or Disneyland hand out freebies such as pins (for special occasions), character or princess stickers, and the Autopia "driver's license." If you're vacationing off the beaten path, consider taking home a pressed leaf (they make for great wall art) or a little jar of sand (though mind the rules about removing sea shells from the beach, especially if you're in an environmentally-sensitive area).

Saving the best for last, postcards are the true winners when it comes to souvenirs. They’re simple, personalized, and affordable (just pay for the postcard and postage). That way, your friends and family still get a piece of your vacation without cluttering their homes or overstretching your wallet like traditional souvenirs often do.

What about you? Do you like buying souvenirs or do you have something else you like to bring back home? Tell us in the comments below!

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This article is from Kelly Kehoe of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The Easiest Way to Save Money on Vacation

Nora Dunn — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:46:39 +0000

You are enjoying a sunny vacation on the beaches of Mexico. Some of the locals are wearing native garb, or at least peddling it. Vendors walk up and down the beaches selling their wares, from coconut shell jewelry, to crocheted sundresses, to key chains.

You want something to remember this moment with. The smells of pina coladas and sun tan lotion, the feeling of the soft white sand, and the sound of gentle ocean waves splashing on the beach. Those crocheted sundresses are beautiful, and you’d look stunning in one. You could use it as a cover up at the beach, and you could also accessorize it up nicely for dressy-casual dinners. It’s perfect.

You swear up and down that you’ll wear it at home too. That’s the reason you’re getting it of course – there are people everywhere down here wearing these beautiful garments – why wouldn’t you wow people at home with it too?

So after shelling out your precious pennies for the beautiful (read: tacky) sundress, getting gitchy key chains as souvenirs for people at home, wacky t-shirts, and coconut shell necklaces, you have just blown your vacation budget.

What’s worse: you get the beautiful (read: tacky) sundress home, and it in turn finds a home in the back corner of your closet, only to be rediscovered months or even years later. You try it on, hopeful that it won’t look as bad as you think it will. It really does look that bad. So it gets disposed of or given away to a poor unsuspecting victim.

The key chains are accepted by friends with a genuinely appreciative smile, only to be tossed into their overflowing bowl of key chains that they’ll never use.

The t-shirts were cool and reflected a uniquely cultural flair when you saw them in Mexico, but they seem a little too out of place at home. They become very expensive cleaning rags.

And the coconut shell necklace went nicely with the sundress, but it is horribly tacky up close, not to mention falling apart; it is a marginal step above macaroni and white glue. The necklace your kid made in grade two beats this one you paid money for.

What’s the best way to save money on vacation, and not sacrifice the experience?

Leave the souvenirs in the store.

The best intentions of stimulating the local economy by purchasing souvenirs are more often than not misguided. Many “authentic” crafts and souvenirs are mass-produced in another country entirely. The local girl selling them isn’t seeing nearly the profit margins you may think – in fact she could even be getting a meager hourly wage from a foreigner who is the actual “boss”.

The items you think you’ll use at home rarely get used. They collect dust, either in your cupboards, or in the cupboards of the poor folks you bestow these gifts upon. The local fashion looked great while you were visiting, but just doesn’t seem to work when you try to wear it at home.

Impulse shopping, especially while on vacation, is an easy trap to fall into; that’s why heavily touristy areas are littered with concession stands. But rarely will it produce the overall satisfaction that you expect when you shell out your sheckles for that "must-have" souvenir. You won’t use that purse. Wallet. T-shirt. Key chain. 150th mug. Lampshade. Chances are you really won’t.

But having a souvenir to remember your trip with is a legitimate desire, and can be satisfied without breaking the budget.

As suggested in another recent article, instead of leaving yourself to impulse, try to select an item that you want to remember the trip by – just one. One that you can either use regularly (like a hand-carved kitchen tool), or that has a spot on a blank wall that will compliment your current décor and bring fond memories every time you look at it.

If you can, select this item before you even leave home. Then instead of being sidetracked in souvenir shops and concession stands, you can instead be on a mission to find the perfect kind of item you are specifically looking for. It actually becomes part of the adventure of your trip, and depending on the availability of your chosen souvenir, you may meet some interesting folks searching for it.

You will start to see the difference between the mass-produced souvenir shop fakes, and the real deal. And yes – in some cases you may spend a little extra money on it; but since you’re only buying one thing, you can afford it. It’s in the budget.

Trust me – this is the voice of experience here, with a drawer full of “who can I possibly give this to” items – both your wallet and your wardrobe will appreciate it.

This article is from Nora Dunn of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: