[travelmaster]

Hi everyone,

I just saw this post and although not the most current since I am in the travel business I thought I'd throw my two cents worth of tips, mainly relating to preparations. They are all based on experiences both personal and from our clients.

These days almost all travel documents are what we in the industry call
"e-dox" or electronic tickets. Best to email them to your own email. In other words have a copy of every ticket, voucher, itinerary, in your own email inbox so if all your papers are lost you can reprint them as long as you can get access to a comuter and the net of course.

Make a copy of your passport and keep one in EVERY piece of luggage as well as send one to your email.

Although very tempting do not book services via multiple websites, providers etc (would you buy a car by buying separate parts from many different dealers bit by bit and put together ?). In travel a lot can go wrong - just look at what happened at Sydney airport a week ago. Thousands of people were stranded. Sure, it can happen to any airline but if you made a SEPARATE booking on a connecting flight your connection will not wait or "care" why you did not make it. It is a very common situation in Europe - "low cost carriers" cancell flights at last moment.

Pre-book as much as you can if you are on a "tight" schedule. Yes, you will pay more upfront but you will save money in the long run.

And finally - engage a good travel agent and trust them. It's in their interest that you:
a) have a great holiday
b) come bact to book another holiday
c) nothing goes wrong

rgds