If you are traveling somewhere like Africa, for example- you do have to take some additional precautions for your safety- especially in airports. Here is my advice for navigating through the airports in these countries.

1.    Have someone meet you at the airport and do not take a lift unless you are completely sure that the driver is from the right organization.

2.    Make sure that you have a world phone so you are able to call your local contact/hotel/etc….if you are not sure of the person picking you up.

3.    Always carry on you a bunch of US One Dollar Bills. This is especially useful when someone wants to offer you a service such as carrying your bags. If someone does wants to carry your bags- let them. When you get to your bus/taxi- give them a dollar. I have seen people get hassled all the way out of the airport- but if you have a local guy carrying your bags noone will approach you. 

4.    Dress down… far down… do not be wearing expensive watches or sunglasses as they attract attention. I am 6′ 4” and 250 pounds so I can’t be hidden- but I don’t stand out.

5.    Do not get upset- some things take a lot longer in other countries- especially african ones. Remember that you are the visitor.

The more often you travel off the beaten path, the more used you will get to this. And there are incredible things that you can see and do which make it worthwhile to try sometime.

I have had the good fortune to have had a few of these experiences. I have ridden on a camel around the pyramids in Egypt… There is no way to explain the feeling of this kind of experience but it can really be life changing.

Here are a couple of ideas that a friend of mine gave me for saving time at airports. I knew he was a good person to ask because he hates waiting in line: 

1.    If you happen to travel through the same airport often,get a few copies of the customs forms and fill them out in advance, in order not to delay your lineup.

2.    If you have a way to fast-track customs, do so. In Canada we haveCanpass which will make your trip through Canadian customs much faster, as you get to bypass the regular lineup. There is another program called Nexus, which is currently being trialled at Vancouver airport. Nexus is a joint program between Canadian and US customs authorities to allow travellers from either country to fast-track.

3.    If you are flying on a short trip, do not check any luggage.

My friend uses Canpass and loves it. He says that he now avoids the big lineup at customs, and that he does not get stopped any more than usual. I am going to try it out and let you know what I think…

One of the most common problems you will face while traveling across times zones is jet-lag. Because your body is not accustomed to the new time you will feel tired and worn down for a couple days. If you are traveling to a different time zone, here are a couple of tips that can help to ease the suffering of jet-lag…..

1.    Try and get your body on to the new time one or 2 days before your travel. I typically go to bed around midnight. As I am five hours behind U.K. time, when I travel to the UK, I try to go to bed at 7 p.m. for one or two nights before I set off, and start my day at three or four a.m. This way, my body has already started to adjust to the new time by the time I get to my destination. Similarly, while I am in the U.K.; before I begin my return to Canada, I try to stay up until 4 or 5 a.m., so that my body is already starting to adjust back to the right time by the time I get back home.  

2.    Try anti jet-lag pills- you can find these in many pharmacies and in airports, though they cost more at the airport. I have found them to be quite effective. 

3.    Take advantage of early check-in. nowadays most airlines will let you check in to your flight online 24hrs before you fly. This can get you a better seat and will speed up your process at the airport. Better seat= more comfortable travel= more rest= less jetlag.

4.    Before you check-in early, in order to help you evaluate which seats are better than others, have a look at http://www.seatguru.com/.

Airports used to be a relaxed place to spend some time before you travel or while you transit…. but due to recent events they are fast becoming some of the most miserable places to spend a few precious hours of your life…. Here are six tips to help you take the stress out of airports.

1.    Firstly, take advantage of early check-in. nowadays most airlines will let you check in to your flight online 24hrs before you fly. This can get you a better seat and will speed up your process at the airport.

2.    Check in everything that you can unless you really need the item during the flight – I have seen so many people carrying large bags all around airport, what for? Airports are big places which typically require a lot of walking- you will often have to carry you bag for a while, so make it as light as possible. Ideally in many cases I don’t have any carry-on bags at all. Whenever you are passing through an airport, try to wear a coat with pockets, you can carry small things in it (I usually have a book), and it will also make your life a lot easier passing through the security check.

3.    When you pass through the security screening, you then only have to take your items from your pants pockets and put them into your coat. Do not forget to take your watch off as that may also set off the metal detector. I constantly see people waiting in line for 10 minutes in order to start emptying their pockets when they arrive at the front and they are surprised when they have to pass back through the detector three or four times because they forget to take everything out.

4.    Another tip about the security screening- try to wear the right type of shoes- this usually means shoes with soles that have been glued- not nailed, or shoes that do not have large metal lace hooks- both of which can set off the metal detector. Many airports now ask everybody to remove their shoes.

5.    If you have lounge access- use it. As a minimum you can use the lounge to get free bottles of water. If you do not have lounge access try to find a comfortable corner of the airport to relax. I have a Priority Pass, which gives me lounge access in almost any airport. As a frequent traveler it has been very worthwhile.

6.    Lastly, remember that you do not need to be the first one on the plane… as long are in the waiting area at the right time, the plane is not going to leave without you – if the airline cannot find you they actually have to unpack your luggage from the plane. They do not want to do this so they give people a good chance to arrive before they would not let you on. It never ceases to amaze me that many people will wait in line eagerly to get to their seat as soon as possible- then have to wait for everybody else.

I hope these few ideas help your next airport visit.

In my last post I talked about frequent flier miles and some basic rules to consider. Aside from the obvious, which is collecting frequent flier miles directly from the airlines, there are many other ways to collect miles. Here are a couple of ideas:

·         Car rental agencies have their own programs, but they will often also give you frequent flier points as a bonus for renting with them.

·         Credit card companies are probably the best way to collect additional miles; many cards will allow you to collect one mile per dollar spent on the card. If you travel for business this can add up to a lot of miles. I have averaged 50,000 spending per year in the last few years which is enough for 2 short haul flights in North America or one flight to Europe ever year. Even if you do not travel for business if you put most of your expenses on credit cards it will add up to a lot.

·         There is a third category which will also give you miles but in actual fact you are probably better off signing up to their own programs and that is hotels. Hotels usually have points programs of their own which can be very useful. Starwood hotels has a very good program called preferred guest which allows you to collect points to use for hotel rooms, but it has one other special feature- these points can also be converted to points on most major airlines- so if you are missing some points for your next reward ticket you can transfer it from your preferred guest account.

If you get a credit card which is partnered with Starwood preferred guest you have the best of all worlds- you will collect a lot of points for hotels which can be transferred to airlines if needed. In Canada we have the MBNA MasterCard and in the United States there is the American Express for this.

Some people do not bother collecting points or frequent flier miles. I used to be one of those people. However, I had been traveling quite a lot for work and one day my boss asked me how many British Airways points I had (as I was usually flying BA). When I told him that I was not a member of their frequent flier club he told me to join immediately and to log my previous six months of flights. Upon doing so I immediately collected 50,000 BA miles, which is enough for a trip from North America to Europe. Wow. That’s how I became very interested in points and miles.

There are a few basic rules to consider when collecting frequent flier miles- or any kind of points for that matter. These are my top three-

The first rule is to always collect them where you can. They do not cost you anything and they can add up to future flights, hotel stays, or merchandise. My rule is- if you can collect some kind of points you should – and if you are not already a member of their plan- join. It’s free and may add up to something later. The only exception to this is when the item that you are purchasing costs more to collect the points (unusual but it happens).

The second rule is to try and stick to the same points programs, so have primary and secondary programs- it is better to have 60,000 Aeroplan points, for example, then 30,000 Aeroplan and 30,000 BA. The first one can give you a trip to Europe or 2 tickets around North America; the second can’t even get you to Europe. This may seem like it contradicts the first rule, but it does not- try to use your primary program first, then your secondary one, and so on…

The third rule is the importance of understanding expiry, because you do not want your points to go to waste. Either try to use points without expiry, or if your points do expire, know the rules related to this. For example, many people in Canada collect Aeroplan points, but many are not aware that they expire after 3 years of inactivity on the account. Inactivity does not necessarily mean flight inactivity; Esso gives you 1 Aeroplan point for buying $3 of gas; so if you have not collected Aeroplan points in  2 1/2 years you can just buy $3 of gas to collect 1 point and keep the account active. Don’t find out the hard way that you have lost all of your points.

I am going to get into more detail of points programs in future posts. Stay tuned…