Talk to me about International Travel!

[Joana1n]

You seasoned travelers, hit me with your best tips for packing, surviving a LOOOOOOOOOONG plane ride, dealing w/jet lag, etc!

[nun69]

pack as light as possible and bring things that can wash and wear easily. I would ship your favorite shampoo and conditioner and tolietries before you go and leave them when you leave if you are going somewhere really hot (and I think you are ) pack you lots of tank tops that could be layered...and you would be amazed how much you can get in a suitcase by "rolling: your clothes and packing them tightly. definetely sunscreen and extra sunglasses. All I can think of for now!

[Mari Koegelenberg]

oh hun...ok drink lots of water, on the plane walk around as much as possible...I know it might be annoying to the other people but seriously the swollen puffy ankles is not a hot look. You are probably doing a stopover somewhere...most airports have a shower facility although it cost extra it is soooo worth the cost. (Oh and if you are at Frankfurt, avoid they're telephone call cubicle things...last time they charged me a whopping $240 to make a 10 second call to my Dad to explain we were stranded...for 18 hours on an airport...with 2 kids...dont let me get started...)

And when you arrive at Durbs do not go to sleep...have a nice long shower and only go to bed when the locals do. Otherwise your internal clock is gonna be even more haywire. Try and stay awake as long as possible...if you go to bed to early you will wake up in the middle of the night and as soon as you are in that cycle it is really hard to break. Be prepared to have 3 or 4 days like this and it will get gradually better.

And when you get there buy a pack of Chocolate Romany Creams just for me! You won't regret it!

[Joana1n]

Originally Posted by Mari Koegelenberg

And when you arrive at Durbs do not go to sleep...have a nice long shower and only go to bed when the locals do.

We will be taking a bus from Durban to Pietermaritzburg and will arrive there around midnight local time. I'm tired just thinking about it!

Great advice, thanks! It will be cold!

[aly321]

Ooh I need these tips too! We are going to Kenya... 24 hour plane ride!! Ahh!

[joelsgirl]

Here's what we find that helps:
Set your clock to your destination time as soon as you board and abide by that time; if it's bedtime there, sleep, if not stay awake.

When you arrive, stay up as long as you can and get up by 8 am. Try to keep to that time zone as much as you can, and avoid caffeine in the afternoon (but indulge when you hit the 10am slump).

Try to be in the sunshine as much as possible the first few days.

Don't take a zillion things in your carryon, but if you can fit a pillow/neck pillow in there, do it.

We've had friends who start moving bedtime back/wake up time up in small increments the week before they leave, to help them adjust to the new time zone.

Where are you going?

[kim21673]

Ummmm, put everything in ziploc bags. I did that when I went to Australia and New Zealand and then again to Mexico. It was great...nothing wrinkled and I was able to get more in too! In also came in handy when customs had to open my luggage.

[Nikki Epperson]

I'll be watching this thread too. Not for me, but Lane (my 16 year old) is going to Mongolia in July. I'd love to be able to give him some advice!

[ayaandjudah]

Originally Posted by Nikki Epperson

I'll be watching this thread too. Not for me, but Lane (my 16 year old) is going to Mongolia in July. I'd love to be able to give him some advice!

MONGOLIA? What will he be doing there?

[Joana1n]

I'm heading to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa for a 10-day mission trip with my church. We fly from DFW to Atlanta, leave Atlanta at 7:35 PM and then arrive in Johannesburg at 5:30ish pm local time. Then we'll fly from Johannesburg to Durban, and then take a bus from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. We will arrive at our final destination around midnight, so it's going to be a really, really long day of travel there and back!

[lovely1m]

My co-worker and I were just talking today about how cool it would be to go to South Africa. How funny. I have no advice though, never been to another country except for Canada, but since I live right by it, that doesn't count.

[Milmomma]

Just got back from 32 hours from SK to the states. I traveled with a 5 and 6 yr old this time... water bottles empty was great for us! We could fill and drink them when we were thirsty instead of waiting. Ipods/iphones and ipads were life savers for us! None of us slept the whole time we were on the planes so when we got there we crashed, it was night so it was perfect. Make sure you have back up batteries! And don't forget transformers if you need them on the other side. Also if you can get a currency conversion app. Possibly get some before you get there if you can so you can get what you want/need right off the plane. Pack light to avoid too much hassle through customs. If you have babies/toddlers not potty trained I figure out how to take the sb 2 gallon ziplocks pack, a set of clothes for kid, diaper/pull up and samwhich baggie with some wet wipes. I packed a few sets of their clothes like this for the carry on incase of accident or whatever we had changes of clothes and the dirty ones can go right back into the ziplock and keep everything else safe. hmmm what else, bring snacks for kids and yourself! Don't forget yourself! HTH's

[rachaelsscraps]

We took a 12-13 hour flight to Moscow, Russia. We purposely took the night flight so we slept through most of it

[kristijoy]

I ditto the ziplock bags in your suitcase.

Here's my other tips that I do when going over seas:

1. Pack protein bars in the carry-on for the plane. You just might need something to eat and that airplane food might not be coming at the right time.

2. Depending on where you are going (and whether you'll LOVE the food. Or be worried about Travellers Diarrhea) I would pack a few prepackaged foods in your suitcase - protein bars, crackers, etc..

3. For weather I always bring along some big scarf or shawl that can double as a light jacket, head scarf, etc...

4. Find something that will help you adjust to a wierd sleep cycle. I've tried the homeopathic jet-lag medicines. Worked sort-of OK. You could also try melatonin. The thing that works for me is some kind of sleeping pill (you might need to get something from your Dr.). I DON"T sleep on planes easily, so if my flight is supposed to be part of a 'night' I'll take a sleeping pill. Usually I need to use it for 2 or 3 nights after we arrive. The best thing would be to time your arrival in the evening (if possible) so you can go to your hotel and crash. We arrived in London once in the mid-morning...that was the longest day EVER! Resist going to sleep in the middle of the day. Walk around...move...do anything to keep yourself awake (except drink lots of caffeine!)

5. Earplugs of some sort are a must on the airplane if you are trying to sleep.

6. If you are going someplace exotic (India, africa etc...): Check with a Travelers Medical Clinic to see if you need to get any shots for disease prevention, and/or malaria medication. Make sure you give yourself enough time to do this. You may also be able to get a perscription to travel with for travellers diarrehea that you can use to self medicate.

7. Call your credit card company and give them the dates of your trip. My DH went on a business trip to India a few months ago. He flew through the United Arab Emirates and bought a few things in the airport with his debit card. The bank put a stop on the card and then called our house trying to verify these charges. They were trying to make sure his card wasn't stolen by someone out of the country. I then gave them the dates of his trip so they could release his card and he could still buy food. I'm so glad I was home and not with him or I'm not sure what we would have done! Next time I travel I'll definately be calling the bank before we leave!

HAVE FUN!