All our pro-tips in one place
Pro-tip: If you are on a flight that gets canceled and you and all the other passengers are redirected to the ticket counter, CALL the airline IMMEDIATLEY. Be INCREDIBLY nice to the person you reach and work with them to rebook your flight. Be open to early morning flights and different routes that might include a layover. This trick saved our weekend trip to Chicago in 2016 and we had a lovely unexpected margarita at Nacho Hippo in Myrtle Beach’s airport along the way. We were flying out of LaGuardia and took advantage of NYC’s great public transit and the fact that the city never sleeps. We went into Manhattan for a late dinner and got back to the airport in time to grab a couple Zzzs on the floor before our new flight to Chicago via Myrtle Beach.
Pro tip– If you are visiting a location that is frequented by cruise ships, please do yourself a favor and make sure to stay at least one night in the location. If that isn’t possible, be sure to plan to explore the location early morning, evening and/or late night. Most of the cruises will be in port from 8am to 5pm. We have done this in Cozumel and Venice and it is an incredible experience that isn’t to be missed. I love seeing multiple sides of each location and often times it is like a totally different world when the cruise passengers depart.
Pro tip– In smaller locations, often islands, with a large tourist industry it doesn’t take much work to discover the local side. It can be as easy as walking one or two blocks away from the main strip or tourist attraction. We love to see how quickly it shifts from a loud, in your face consumerism environment to a local relaxing environment. This is where you find local bars and restaurants that you can settle in and learn all about where you must go and what you must try on the island they love so much. We enjoy picking the brains of local bartenders and even other customers. These are some of our most treasured moments in all of our travels.
Pro Tip– If you are in a country that you plan to visit again, take a small amount of local currency home. It is extremely comforting to arrive in a country with local currency already in your pocket. My wife loves collecting currency from around the world so needless to say we have quite the selection at home.
Pro-tip: Gift Cards-In my line of work, I am lucky enough to be gifted various gift cards. We collect them and keep them with our passports and other travel necessities. While K and I don’t frequent Starbucks and other chains in our everyday life in Philly, we do love having them for our airport adventures. There is little better than a free coffee in an airport to start or end a trip.
Pro-Tip: Spend at least a night on The Aran Islands. The Aran Islands are much like a cruise location. You will miss out on the true unique beauty of the islands if you don’t stay overnight. By staying overnight, you can enjoy a delicious Irish breakfast and be climbing up Dun Aohghasa before the first ferry docks. This experience alone is worth the night on the island.
Pro-Tip– Take the first ferry of the day but don’t go to Dun Aohghasa till your second day. Let everyone on your ferry rush to fit in all the sites, while you check into your BnB, do a quick shopping trip at the Spar, and grab a pint. Pick up your favorite picnic snacks and head to the Seal Colony Viewpoint and/or beach for a nice lunch. The next morning wake up early and time it so that you are at Dun Aohghasa right when it opens. You will be able to start your hike and avoid the ferry crowds. In the off season, you will most likely have it fully to yourself. This is precisely what happened to us in December 2017 and it was magical. This experience alone is worth the night on the island.
Pro-Tip- We LOVE getting to bars right when the open for the day. It is an amazing way to have the bar to yourself and gather priceless information from the bartender. At Peruke and Periwig, we were given plenty of places to visit and a great cocktail recipe. They also let us go upstairs to see the dining area despite it being closed until later that day. The upstairs is super unique and worth a visit.
Pro-Tip: Plan your trip based on the most affordable travel options. It seems simple but it can take practice to learn how to develop the trips based on this method. Having a high level of flexibility allows us to save a lot of money. We always have a list of cities that we want to visit and I am constantly searching for great travel deals to all of them. I will find a city that is cheapest to get to from Philly or NYC (NYC, which includes JFK, LGA, & EWR, almost always wins this battle) then after we find the most affordable city to start our trip, I search through our list of the remaining cities we want to visit to see what cities make the most sense for that adventure.