Aurora Hunting: Chasing the Aurora Borealis

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Janet Canning

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Photo by Image by McBeaner

While we go back into restrictions in many countries due to Covid, this late-fall and early winter if you are lucky enough to be at a certain latitudinal line in the northern hemisphere, or the southern (Australis Lights), you can see a spectacular show of ribbons of lights in the night skies. We see our sun’s solar winds colliding with the Earth’s atmosphere, which is changing in composition, and we get amazing ribbons of spectral dancers. Places to see the this amazing show include the Shetland Islands and mainland Scotland, in the 52°-55° latitudinal lines, and Ireland is also well situated to see these amazing light displays.

The Aurora Zone

Countries within or near the 52°-55° latitude are considered the best places to observe the night time light show. However, if the geomagnetic activity is high (Kp index) the lights can extend further. There is not a season per se for the lights, however winter is usually better with longer nights. And as far away from large cities as possible.

Scottish Sites: October to March

Isle of Lewis, Harris, and Skye (North), Orkney and Caithness . The farthest Northwest part of Scotland: Applecross Peninsula, Lochniver, Ullapool. Cairngorms range, Galloway Forrest Park, Perthshire

Coast of Fife, Morray Firth , Nairn, Cairn o’ Mount

Ireland Sites: Best months September and March

County Donegal, Inishowen Penisula and surrounds. County Kerry, Kerry Dark Sky Park. County Mayo, Mullet Peninsula (Standing stones and Northern Lights), Downpatrick Head. County Sligo, Mullaghmore

Iceland: All of it

Norway: The Lofoten Islands, Nordkapp, Kirkenes, Tromsø, and Svalbard

Canada: In some places you can see them 240 nights out of the year

Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, and Newfoundland Labrador

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Image by Martin Solhaug Standal

Share your Aurora hunting stories.

The Aurora Australius Is a Wild Night of Lights

Seven Epic Spots For Stargazing In New Zealand

Streaming Services in Other Countries Are Tempting, And a Security Risk

Posted on August 25, 2019 by Janet Canning

Most travelers know that you cannot use the digital download service you use in your country, say the US or Canada, in another country. Due to licensing regulations, agreements, and what not, you cannot use your US Amazon account in Ireland or the UK. Why would you want to, you should be enjoying your trip? Problem is, we are all addicted to some form of wind down, and while traveling, if you have ever tried to rent a video download from a hotel, you have a very limited selection and it costs double what it does at home. Or if only you had that country’s various streaming services. Ah, the clever bot comes out of your mind.

I was trying to be a clever traveler. I paid the price for three years. When in Glasgow in the summer of 2016, I had rented an apartment off of the Clyde river. It had very limited Sky network services. While watching shows that would take 1-2 years to show up on US streaming is fun, I was still not happy with the choices. My US Amazon account would not let me stream. Apple TV the same. I thought to myself, “Why not set up an Amazon UK account and shut it down when I get back after a month? Only download pay-per-view and no frills.” Big mistake.

When I got back to the US, I contacted Amazon UK and went through the lengthly process of trying to shut down the account. I thought I had after a weeks worth of emails. Amazon makes it very difficult for your account to be shut down. If they tell you it’s for your safety, it’s for theirs. It’s because they want to keep your money coming in. It’s part of that making you addicted to their services and invading your life thing.

Move forward three years.

I noticed a small, funny $.07 charge on my credit card. If you have spotted these funny charges, usually with an IP address and no name on description, you are being queried for possible fraud. A computer program is testing your card’s validity. It’s a sign to go through your accounts for the last few months, and really check the activity. I decided it was time to cancel the card and get a new one. While I was verifying the monthly charges with the Amazon US customer service, we came across charges nestled in with their billing from the UK account I had cancelled 3 years prior. Or I thought I had. The account I had closed had been billing me for 3 years Prime Video membership in the UK. Someone had gotten a hold of my information and was accessing the account.

After two days of dealing with customer services in the UK, explaining I never authorized or signed up for Amazon Prime Video UK, that I couldn’t even watch the streaming from the US because of their licensing agreements, I got a response. I reminded them I had cancelled the account. I demanded a refund. I was told they could only credit me back 15 months, less than half the amount. I then had to go to my Credit Union and ask them to reverse foreign exchange fees, minimal but it’s the principal that counts. I told Amazon I wanted the UK account cancelled. Three days later, and after I had cancelled my credit card, which lead to many other account re-workings, they cancelled both the US and UK accounts. I had made the mistake of using the same email I did for the domestic account. I had to start all over again with a new account. This tells me that I am not the only account holder who has gone through this. That customers accounts are snagged frequently, and that Amazon goes into self protection mode. They don’t like giving refunds.

The UK account. That ugly epiphany moment sunk in. I surmised that after I left Glasgow, someone had accessed the account information from the apartment I was renting, most likely the WiFi. Yes, there are various nefarious ways through either the device you plug into, Smart TV ,or the WiFi in general that this can be done. Remember, Smart TVs participate in the Internet of everything, constantly on checking for updates via WiFi. This leads them open to access if you don’t have a very secure system. Whoever it was, signed up for Prime and had free video downloads for the three years.

Because they had not, luckily, started buying like crazy on Amazon UK, I didn’t pick up on it until years later because Amazon does all of its billing at the same time. Therefore I saw Amazon Prime. Not the UK part of the billing at a quick glance. Someone may have hacked into their system and found the information to restart the account when I cancelled, or Amazon never cancelled as requested (I surmise this is it). There may be a hacker living in the building who knows there are several vacation rentals and has hacked the WiFi. Or the cleaning service has a disloyal employee. Any combination of these and your trip continues to cost you money.

So my advice is; don’t stream at all. Just enjoy your vacation as you should. But if you must:

Stream off of your laptop or WiFi and monitor the account. Shut it down, and keep doing so when you get back.
2. Use a email that’s for travel, I have a gmail account I make for this purpose so I can load files into it and access when abroad.
3. If you must have a mirror account because you travel a lot, get an account very separate and watch it for signs of miss use and change the password when you leave the country.
4. Use a service like Mobdro (open source), Swift Streamz, or Showbox, MUBI, and BBC iPlayer apps if in the UK. In Ireland: Now TV, The RTE Player. But check with any friends you may know there, and ask what they use. Know you will need to shut it down when you get back.

Just be aware it’s not only your credit card information you need to be secure with while traveling. If you use Amazon, it is easy for someone to also start ordering high ticket items and on your dime. Once they have taken over your account, change the password, they can pose as you and try to keep locking you out.

So maybe it’s just best to enjoy your time away from that much media, there will be plenty of other media things going on while you travel. The interactive ones at museums and galleries are usually the best. AND, change your passwords before you leave town, and when you get back. Someone can do the same thing in your home country while you are distracted and away.

Be aware of streaming in the EU and UK if you purchase a local box to view, such as a Hulu box. There are illegal knock offs. They allow you to stream, but it is an illegal setup and not only will they go after the bad guys, your hotel or rental door may be the first to have the Gardai knocking. When illegal streaming is done, they start at the download and work their way back.

Illegal Kodi Boxes

Best Legal Streaming UK

Guardi Crack Down On Illegal Streaming

Avoid Getting Hacked When Traveling

My Netflix Just Got Hacked

Life’s Savings Lost Because of Amazon Hack

The Best Laid Schemes: Money Matters While Traveling

Posted on November 12, 2017 by Janet Canning

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Update March 10, 2018

It is with chagrin that I write this. It has been a few months since my Ireland and Scotland trip. And what I came back to certainly wasn’t fun. Last year I wrote about being careful while traveling, especially where money and safety is concerned. I had two incidents happen to me while traveling, even though I was vigilant and had planned well in advance, was always on guard. One of the big drawbacks of traveling alone, you don’t have a mate to watch your back. You spend a great deal of time watching every corner, when really you want to be watching the sights. How do you tour and enjoy sights while not being targeted is the big question. And even when you plan, you can still get swiped.

In my last article I wrote about how to carry your money, do money belts really work, how hard was it to travel with cash or money. This most recent trip I had gathered up and taken some cash from the UK and Ireland, Pounds and Euros. I kept a certain amount for both on or locked in safes in places I stayed. I only carried small amounts of cash and guarded my concealed chip card fiercely. I still had incidents. I didn’t want to have to access ATMS or anything that would be compromised unless I needed to. Best laid schemes and all.

Cash

Cash is always good to have, especially when you have a desire to not collect chip card fees. It is also a bit of a burden while traveling. You can keep large amounts of cash, but it’s not usually a good idea. Even with a lockable case, or if you are lucky, a hotel room with a safe, you shouldn’t have large amounts on your person as you are making yourself a target. So, I had to decide what the cash budget for a day would be, try to keep that very low, conceal it, stuff a fiver or a tenner in the key pocket of the Levis for cash items, the rest was prepaid travel card. I didn’t want to have to access foreign exchanges too often, there were always fees involved. Card use depended on using for food at restaurants mainly, and I tried to keep that down because fees may be charged again. They may seem minimal, but usage fees can total over £ 50.00 by the end of your trip, and if you are limited to currency because your card company won’t do two or more currencies to your card, you will get exchange fees. So budget £ 5-8.00 for a day if using one for the extra fees.

For the most part, money belts do work, especially if you get a low profile one that you can sling low and hide in jeans it’s not quite as obvious. Cloth money belt may be more desirable due to heat and moisture, but one with internal pockets.

I carried my cash from town to town and through airports using a money belt. Problem was they made me take it off and put in the bins during boarding. This was extremely nerve wracking as it was out of sight and I had to keep chasing down the bin and keep track of everything else as well. The money belt worked otherwise for the most part, I found it was better while traveling on trains. So, even though the belt was made to not trigger alarms at the airport, they still found it. Concealed card holders usually make it through if there is not a metal snap. Better to wait and get the cash there after you arrive.

Backpacks

Most of the cities you will tour are filled with students, and backpacks are the norm. You also want to be able to meet and greet locals and get a feel for a place. You should be able to just talk to anyone, right? But you always have to think the most affable could be sizing you up. Pickpockets have been in the trade for over a thousand years. And they have gotten more sophisticated than you think, think super spy.

If you are touring and doing serious backpacking with a kit and this is your mode for travel as well, you will probably want to take a smaller low profile version along for town day excursions. Back packs are magnets for a lift or slash. If you are touring and need to do several hours away from hotel or other lodging, purses and such are not a good thing. Too easy to slash and grab. You can buy modified purse/backpacks with reinforced straps, but the best thing to do is buy very small back packs with low profile or lockable zippers. While some thieves will still slash a bag, many are subtle and will unzip while standing next to you and you are distracted by the sights or your companions. Be wary of who is next to or near you.

I purchased a very low profile, small backpack that really sat against my body. It had hidden, recessed zippers and a compartment for my iPad. However, with careful planning I still was almost a victim. While in Dublin in large crowds, apparently someone went for my iPad. The recessed zippers hadn’t mattered. I had barely noticed the jostle and almost forgot it all together until two young girls came up and said that my pack was open and looked like a grab had happened. I checked everything and luckily the would be thief had not made off with the iPad, or any other valuable item like the passport. The girls said it happened a lot in the area. So, whenever possible, practice looking tragically hip while guarding your backpack, especially in the Temple Bar area.

Cash Card

I went with a cash card again on this trip. However, I did bring my ATM card as a backup if it got stolen. Big mistake. I had been really vigilant about getting cash. I was trying not to use the chip travel card to get cash, wasn’t sure how safe it would be. If I needed cash I went directly to accredited money exchangers after checking Yelp for reviews, and in some UK Post Offices you can use their exchange. I figured if you got a receipt and if they are a chain, you have some recompense if there is a problem. However, depending on remote locations, sometimes the card wouldn’t work for buying meals and such, being WiFi processing dependent. I was doing really well with managing the money, and really thought I had done okay until I got back to the US and found my checking account had been cleared out. The bank got me the records and after contacting Scotland Police by email, I began looking at a trail of how my account was cleared out. It appears the one time I got desperate for cash on a tour, I used a small stand alone ATM at a petrol station. Bad idea. A card skimmer had been attached and as I looked at records, I followed a parallel track to my travels, going through the Highlands and into Edinburgh, the same days I was there for Fringe Festival. Lesson learned, don’t bring anything attached to your bank account and use it to access funds.

Credit Cards

When traveling we often use our credit cards, they usually can be replaced when lost or stolen while traveling if your card is supported internationally. Just be prepared for the the foreign transaction fees. Check with your bank about their rates of exchange before you go. Always plan in your budget for the fees that will hit you when you return. Depending on your countries of travel, you may want to have a card that is with one of the major card companies, Visa or Master Card. Virgin Money is still only available in UK, Europe and Australia.However, the interest rates are terrible. Use credit card sparingly and use the prepaid card for food and expenses.

Large card companies will have the best infrastructure to wire money or replace card overnight in some countries. Travel cards that you preload can be advantageous, but will also accrue per use fees, and if you return and still have money on them, you may get charged monthly fees as well. Close out your cards when you return unless you plan to travel within a year. Contact your card holder for details. I went with Travelex again and for the most part they worked, but the cards were not the latest processing cards and some of the newer chip readers had trouble with them. If you bring your card, make sure you know about any emergency limits. If you have a medical issue in another country, your personal insurance will not cover most expenses. You should buy travel insurance for your trip, make sure that there are allowances for transport fees (ambulance) included. Your credit card will help get you in the door of a medical facility, and you will have to work with the travel insurance later. Pay as you go cards may not be accepted at Casualty rooms.

Travel Cards

I had a Travelex card which is a UK card. Coming from the US, I was told I could only purchase one currency. While in the UK and EU countries, there are cards that allow you multiple currencies on the card. Research this before you go as new card services are popping up, exchange rates will always accrue.

American Express is not accepted by most merchants, if any in the UK and Ireland.

Piece of Mind

There are no guarantees in travel. For the most part, if you have companions you can look out for one another. If you are the single traveler, you have to be even more prepared to be a target. Think about what you really need to do, and do you really need more money in cash. I didn’t want all my eggs in one basket. Even though the travel card was supposed to be the best option, I was concerned about if it got stolen, and considerations about tracking and stopping the old card going to get me refunded funds or were they truly lost. The company claimed it would refund me, but I had my doubts. So, when shopping for your travel cards, research well in advance and talk to them about all their policies. Look at their online interface and see if you think you will be able to access while abroad, or if they have an app for your smart phone. Research through articles and see which cards are performing the best, and in which countries. I found the online web interface really difficult to get to with Travelex. Their app was easy for daily monitoring and topping up.

Travel Insurance

This is a mixed bag, but one you really should consider. While you travel within your state of residence, if you are an American, and don’t have single payer insurance like other countries (Canada, UK, EU Countries) just going out of state can be bad, you could possibly face huge expenses if while on that great trip to the Grand Canyon, you fall an break your arm, or worse, get in a car accident in the rental. Just image the expense overseas. While you can pick up insurance renting a car, it very rarely will cover whatever you manage to damage the car with, or yourself. If you are traveling abroad, when you leave domestic air or cross the border into Canada or Mexico, your insurance will not cover you. So, how do you find medical insurance that really travels with you? You will need to look at travel insurance before you go, and sometimes that is really not going to cover what you think it will cover. And read the fine print.

On this last trip I booked through JustFly.com and added on their comprehensive insurance. My main concerns were: Ambulance and Air Ambulance fees coverage, as flights like this start at $5k to get you to hospital and any other fees they will tack on. I was going through the highlands on tours and well, didn’t want to end up being pulled out of a ditch with no way to pay for it. What considerations must you make? How much to buy this type of insurance? My suggestion is, buy 2 insurance packages. Why? Well, just like your regular health insurance coverage, there are deductibles and such for your domestic regular coverage. You need to make sure that you are covered for something catastrophic. Most serious hospital stays and operations can add up to the price of a house, say up to $300k for hospital and and surgeries. Add on the fees for ambulance and any other transport or transfers fees, and you could become bankrupt.

It’s really frustrating to have to think of terrible things happening on vacation, but they do all of the time. It’s better to have the piece of mind. But what can you afford? The basic travel and flight insurance I got, covered flight cancellations, luggage loss, medical coverage, transport coverage. The cost was $60.00 for three weeks coverage. The amounts covered seemed to cover what fees might be for the services, and yes I had looked up random information on average out of pocket expenses in Europe for hospitals. In the EU there is some coverage for this, but their are always situations where if you are coming from Ireland and traveling to France, their are agreements for insurance coverage. And still there will be things not covered. But if you are not from the EU, it will all be out of pocket. Research what policies you should have to cover you if you are traveling to Australia, for example. I now believe I should have had two policies. I should have bought another policy as a back up for what was not covered in the one I got. Insurance companies will always try to not pay out on what it looks like they are covering, it’s part of the industry. Your situation is possibly going to be one they deny coverage on. So, having another plan from another carrier, and one that covers accidental death is a must. You may have a life insurance policy, but that can even have snags that your loved ones don’t want to come up against. Bringing back a body from overseas is very expensive and customs makes it very difficult. You don’t need the huge fees on top of an already distressing situation for your family. Buying an additional policy may be another $60.00. It’s an expense that you will have to write off.

For more research and making this very important decision, check this review site out:

Travel https://www.reviews.com/travel-insurance/

Medical https://www.reviews.com/travel-insurance/medical/

Hotel Safes

You can shop for accommodations that have a room safe. While you are looking for accommodations on a travel website, contact the accommodation and see if they have room safes. These usually rely on a code that you set yourself, however there are a few locking types which means you have another key to keep track of. In days of old when you traveled, you could rely on a main hotel safe for passports, etc. Try to avoid them. You have no guarantee that the employees won’t skim your funds or access your passport.

UK and EU Travel Cards Information and Articles

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/travel-money-options-cash-cards-and-travellers-cheques#using-pre-paid-cards-abroad

http://www.wisebread.com/travel-and-money-using-prepaid-travel-cards

UK Residents http://www.holidayextras.co.uk/travel-money-card.html

https://www.what-prepaid-card.co.uk

Cards

Travelex

Check if you can have multiple currencies https://www.travelex.com/travel-money-card

Visa Prepaids from Visa Partners https://usa.visa.com/pay-with-visa/cards/card-finder/prepaid-finder-page.html

Virgin https://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/travel-prepaid-card/index.jsp

Travel by Train, It Makes Sense

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Janet Canning

virgin When traveling in another country, you may not have the luxury of taking a car and just going. Cars can be rented, but can be more costly in the UK and Europe to rent and run. Of course you can have fun driving on the left side of the road, or maybe find a place in Germany that rents American Muscle Cars and drive the Autobahn (always a bucket list item). Trouble is that renting a motorcar in the UK or Europe is very expensive and you may return from your trip with additional costs for a slight car ding ranging in the £€ 1,000.00 2,000.00 range. Yes, even if you buy insurance, there will be some additional costs, and petrol is very high in Europe. So often a train ride is a better option. And trains can be fun, especially if you can get on a historic one. Many of the train options are for diesel or electric and some are well cared for, and some are not. But you need to get where you are going, and travel bus is not for everyone.

Scotland

Hogwarts Express – Scotland The Jacobite Express First Class £ 59.00 £ 35.00 standard return.

http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/

This iconic train is booked well in advance as you can imagine. I couldn’t get it for my dates. If you are a train lover, start planning your vacation around the trains and trips months in advance. This train encompasses the Glenfinnan viaduct, Arisaig, Mallaig, Fort William areas and is a great trip across the Highlands and on a clear day you can see many of the islands from the shores. Their’s full tea service as well, and you know how fun it is to take tea on a classic train.

If you want to see Hogwart’s locations, head to University of Glasgow, and Edinburgh’s streets.

The Flying Scotsman

http://www.flyingscotsman.org.uk/ Site is very image intensive

To book, go to this site http://www.railwaytouring.net/

This train recently started touring again and has been quite a hit. However there was a performance safety issue this last season and you need to check if it is running again on the http://www.railwaytouring.net/ site. It’s a classic good run on a restored train, so keep an eye out while you make your tour plans this season to see if you can catch a ride.

Scotrail

Luckily, Scotrail was not on strike action this season, like it had been the summer before. The trains had showed it and I had been rerouted by bus at least once on that trip. This trip, 2017, was smooth sailing, except when I was stranded in Kyle of Lochalsh due to rocks falling on the tracks for 2 hours with a cancelled train. The rest of the trip, the trains ran on time for the most part and were cleaner than the previous year. Of course going through the Highlands is always breathtaking so it was worth the trip. Great conversations with fellow travelers.

Virgin Trains The Highland Chieftain

On my final rail around the Highlands for the 2017 tour, I got a real sweet deal on Virgin Trains for a first class in the quiet car at just a few pounds more than 2nd class. A bump of £ 4.00 per seat got me on a single side seat facing the Eastern Coast of Scotland down to Edinburgh. Very smooth ride and great scenery of Stirling and all places in between. It was a bittersweet farewell to the Highlands, but a really fabulous experience. If you time your ticket right, in the middle of the week and mid to late morning, the price is fair. The only problem was one car had no WiFi working or any of the charging ports for phones and people kept coming into our car. It wasn’t really a problem as it was half full and you get to meet more people that way. Wait, it was supposed to be a quiet car, right? But most were pretty good about it. A very good trip all round on that one.

Ireland € 16.00 -30.00

Irish Rail http://www.irishrail.ie/

Traveling in Ireland this summer I spent time on some very clean trains that kept good time. I was lucky on the two trips I had to make, plenty of room and easy storage for my cases, cars were clean and comfortable. I had booked a month in advance and got very good pricing. It was under € 20.00 to get to Galway and the return trip on to Belfast was under € 30.00. Considering the high cost of being in Dublin for 4 days, it was helpful on the budget to get the tickets in advance and pick up at the kiosks. Smooth rides on both trips.

The trip to Galway was filled with amazing green fields, passing through Athlone, the true countryside of Ireland. And there is a reason it’s called the Emerald Isle, it’s amazingly green even in the high summer. It was a record high temperature week when I was there, but the trains were comfortable and clean. Conversation was good, and trains always provide an opportunity to talk with local people about where they live and what is going on in their lives. And the Irish love to talk about their lives and where they live, and great deal about politics

But Can the Train Get Me to Where I Want to Go?

In some cases, you can take trains to some of the national parks in countries, or take a link ride with a bus. Sadly this will cut into some of your travel time and limit some places you can get to. If you have a car you can tour the Highlands for better access, get closer to a Munro for that great climb. However cars make you take on big responsibilities in other countries. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the country’s driving laws and customs for driving country roads. Many tourists do not get the right of way on one lanes in Scotland and the rest of the UK much to the chagrin of locals. When in doubt, always err on the side of letting others pass. Then there are the smaller roads like coffin roads on some of the isles. You can get really lost on an island. In many cases, such as Isle of Skye, too many tourists are renting cars and not parking with care. Skye is boggy and loamy right off the road and if you get in the mire, the car will sink. Getting it pulled is very costly.

Walking and Hiking Tours

Really want to tour the countries and get to know them? Then walking tours and climbing in parks may be your best bet. Many of these can be accessed by public transport and many back packers go this route. It can take a bit longer to get somewhere, but is well worth it. Try joining some of the hiking and walking boards for the country you are visiting. You can check on the best climbs for a novice or find out about roadworks and diversions for trails. Most large cities like Dublin and Glasgow have rail to bus link services, it will take more time but it can be done.

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/

http://www.theirelandwalkingguide.com/

http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/

Train Touring Companies

http://www.railwaytouring.net/

https://www.vacationsbyrail.com/europe/ireland

https://www.steamtrainsireland.com/whats-on

Irish Rail Strikes

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/every-public-transport-disruption-you-11419344

Get Ready to Pack: The Reality of Living Out of a Suitcase

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Janet Canning

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When you are flying domestic or traveling via car or bus, you usually just dump a bunch of clothing, what you think you will need while gone for a few days, into a case. You may have some sense of how you pack, but it’s a ,”Hey, I am going for a few days” mentality. At least this is what I have experienced in talking with other people from the US, not much thought goes into what we cram into the case. This is probably why we get held up at airports, the not thinking about carry on restrictions and what we cram in a case, liquids in too large amounts. If you are going overseas, you need to pack less and more useful clothing, toiletries, devices, and pack definitely more efficiently.

How Are You Traveling?

Will you be on large domestic to international flights? What are their current restrictions on weight and size? You can find most weight and size charts online, but they can still be a bit confusing. You should keep in mind that you may be able to really cram a case full of your belongings, but you have to lug that around for a few weeks and also the planes, trains and automobiles you may use have limited space. When traveling in a train, its a free for all on luggage racks and space behind the seats. You need to monitor your cases and know where they are on public transit. If you can get reserved seating, try to get a seat near or facing the racks to keep an eye on your gear. Check with the airlines, all airlines you are traveling with. This includes the smaller flights you may take in between islands or countries. Don’t rely on what it says on the online travel site you may use to book, contact the actual carrier or railway.

Start Packing Trial Run

Some people are born packers. Some have been in the military and really know how to pack. Others travel a great deal for their jobs and have learned over time the best way to pack a case and survive TSA. You should rehearse with your cases a few days ahead. Now you may think that you have this down, but it’s better to have the trial run and edit than do so 4 hours before flight.

Start by lining up your clothing and thinking about weight. When you are at home, things go in drawers and closets, weigh is distributed. It’s amazing how much we don’t think of clothing as having weight unless it’s work boots. It adds up quickly, and you will pay for extra weight. Not all airlines let you check the cargo baggage free. Many charge per bag.

Methods

Rolling is something I have learned to do. It also means you can cram more things in in the case, and keeps wrinkles down. That doesn’t mean you should keep cramming. Again, weight is very restricted on overseas flights. I find rolling works well because you can keep some wrinkles out of clothing and even when you start accumulating dirty items, you can have one side clean and the other dirty. You will need to do laundry somehow, many wash in the sink, but some dense items that really doesn’t work well for. Plan to loose a few hours to finding a launderette for wash and dry. Some small items just need a rinse, and packing them just takes a quick fold. You may want to take a picture of when you successfully get the cases packed the way you want, just as a reference for the re-pack. Pack a bag for laundry run.

What to Pack

Lists can be found online about this topic. My experience has taught me this:

Several pairs of jeans, trousers. 4 if you can fit it. Easy to move around in, have pockets. Now my experience has taught me get real levis or non-fashion jeans. That’s right ladies, your hip and trendies have no real pockets. Totally useless for travel. You may want to bring one pair for an occasion. If you are on a tight budget, you may want to do what I have done in the past, get to the army surplus and get some real camos or other army pants that have pockets. Otherwise get to the outdoor store and get cargo pants. Works really well for train travel. Zip off kind make cargo shorts.

Tee shirts. Get plenty of teeshirts that can work as layers. Try to have a weeks worth with you. Sadly you will need to wash things, otherwise you have to lug too much with you. Keep in mind that many UK and European cities do not have a laundry set up that you are used to in America. Most of it is service wash and that can take a few days to get back, which won’t work.

One nice set of clothing that packs tight. Unless you are going for a wedding or some other really big affair, one outfit that can go to the theatre or very nice dinner.

Lightweight rain jacket if traveling spring/summer. Heavier weight worn if traveling fall/winter. Don’t bring large umbrella, or brelly. I would advise just buying one there and leaving it if you need. Here in PDX we mostly jacket hood if we have to, and it rains torrents. Think mobile.

Devices. You need a phone and an international plan. Tablet maybe. With new restrictions on the horizon you may want to rethink this. I have to take something because I blog. Make sure you have your power converter. This trip I am relying on the phone for pictures and will be testing some camera phone lenses out. Cameras can be a hassle when traveling, one more thing to keep track of. But if you are a picture fiend, then finding a travel worthy camera is a sound investment.

Money belt. Yes, you will be a tourist target. Try not to be one. You are allowed one small personal bag on most flights. When out on the street, these bags can get slashed and grabbed very easy. Consider money belts for when you really need to have the money with you. Leaving money stashed in hotel rooms is not really safe unless there is a room safe. Backpacks and or travel bag purses should be on the smallish side and reenforced and antitheft built. If you are going the travel backpack route, I suggest you flatten and pack it in your cases and use when you arrive. If they make you check it, it can get damaged on conveyer belts, or just go missing in the system.

Toiletries

I try to buy most of these when I get to the country I am visiting. This works well if it’s a Western country or one that has a large metropolis. Otherwise, you need to pack your shampoos and such in regulation size containers. Double bag in clear zip lock bags and place in clear organizers. Things get jostled about and even with careful planning, can make a mess before you get there are cause inspection problems. Some things you will need to have like medications need to be packed with you in your. Carry on. Just bring enough in your budget to get to the apothecary when you get there.

More

The Savvy Backpacker – Great article on all aspects for consideration while traveling. Including traveling using underground.

https://thesavvybackpacker.com/europe-packing-list/

http://toeuropeandbeyond.com/europe-travel-packing-list/

Video

Taistealaiche

An Ireland, Scotland, and UK Travel Blog

Category Archives: travel planning