Look up the monetary conversion before you go. Finding out that one Danish Krone is equal to just 15 cents … bad surprise. Make sure you do your math before you travel to get a sense of where the conversion rate is at.
Make sure your credit card will work in the country you’re visiting. European banks have switched almost completely to the more secure chip-and-PIN technology, and fewer businesses abroad are accepting the outdated magnetic strip cards. Contact your credit card company and bank to get this information.
Go to a bank or ATM in the country you’re visiting. The conversion centers in the airport or around the city tend to be huge rip-offs. You won’t get charged as many fees at the ATM or the bank, and the conversion will be exact.
Always have local cash. Not every place takes credit cards. Especially important places like trains or buses.
Call your bank or credit card provider prior to leaving to let them know you will be out of state or country. Sometimes banks think that fraud may be occurring if transactions are suddenly happening in Bali when you’re from Jersey, and they will turn off your card as a security measure.
Check the country’s entrance/exit fees. Some countries require travelers to pay in order to enter or leave the country. These fees are not included in the price of your airline ticket, and can range from $25 to $200. Ask your travel agent for this information, or go online and google the country you are visiting for this information.

SECURITY AND HEALTH

Check-in with your doctor and insurance carrier. Double check and make sure that you have all of the proper vaccinations, and that you have renewed all essential prescriptions. Also, ask you medical insurance provider if your policy applies overseas for emergencies. If it doesn’t, and you want to add extra coverage, consider supplemental insurance. Travel Tips jhath62@gmail.com 732-842-7898
Bring copies of your passport. If your passport gets stolen or lost, you want to be sure that you can still get back into the country, or be able to prove your citizenship.
Leave a copy of your passport. For extra backup, leave a copy of your passport at home or with someone you trust. Consider making an electronic copy you can store in your email account as well. NOTE: You will not be able to enter back into the U.S. if your passport expires within 6 months of entry. Renew your passport long before you need to use it.
Register with your embassy. If there’s a problem in the country, this will make it easier for your government to contact you and get you to safety. The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service to allow U.S. citizens and nationals traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate -- https://step.state.gov/step/.

Benefits of enrolling in STEP:

a. Receive important information from the Embassy about safety conditions in your destination country, helping you make informed decisions about your travel plans.

b. Help the U.S. Embassy contact you in an emergency, whether natural disaster, civil unrest, or family emergency.

c. Help family and friends get in touch with you in an emergency.

LOCAL RESEARCH

Buy tickets now for places you know you want to visit or see. By buying in advance, you’ll be able to skip more lines, and find more deals targeted toward you.
Get guidebooks. Guidebooks usually include maps, key words or phrases, and give you enough detail on certain sites that you won’t need to purchase the pamphlet at the venue. And download apps before you travel. Avoid downloading charges from your wireless carrier, and get your apps before you leave.
Research events going on while you’re there. This will help you make sure that you’re not missing events going on in the city; e.g., fun things like festivals, ceremonies and natural events. Also be sure to research a few national dishes to try. You don’t want to leave the country without experiencing what it’s known for

LUGGAGE & PACKING

Pack an extra set of clothes in your carry-on bag just in case the airline loses your luggage.
To check a bag or not to check bag. Each airline has its own set of guidelines as to how many bags can be checked or carried on for free. Make sure to look up what your airline’s rules are to avoid any incremental fees.
Bring snacks. Traveling abroad is fun, but eating in a foreign country can sometimes become a task. Bring small snacks that will tide you over until you find that perfect restaurant or food cart.

WHO SHOULD YOU TIP AND HOW MUCH?

Cruise Staff: In the old days, cruise lines provided an envelope and suggestions for how much to tip the crew members with whom you had direct contact during a sailing. Now it's the norm for major cruise lines to automatically add the tips to your bill (which could take you by surprise), especially in the U.S. and the Caribbean. "In the last 10 years or so there's been a trend toward automating [tips] where the cruise line said, “we'll take care of that for you if you just mark this off on the bill.” While some cruise lines make it possible to adjust the included tips if you wish, on others those included tips have become mandatory and cannot be adjusted. In this case, "the tipping is no longer about you and the person giving you good service—it's about service in general on the ship." And that service, can even extend to things the cruise lines shouldn't expect passenger tips to cover—including employee education. Always check with your cruise line to find out if tips are included (and whether or not they can be adjusted) before setting sail.

Wait Staff: We've got tipping in the U.S. down when it comes to restaurants—leave 15 to 20 percent unless there's some outstanding circumstance. It's not so cut-and-dried abroad. A general rule for tipping in European restaurants is to leave a couple of euros if you're happy with the service, rounding a 47 euro bill up to 50 euros, for example. But in Denmark and New Zealand, no tip is expected at all. And be on the lookout for service Travel Tips jhath62@gmail.com 732-842-7898 charges that are included in the bill. In Norway, a 10 percent service charge is typically included (though you should leave 10 percent if it is not). But be aware that in some places, that service charge doesn't always cover the full tip. In Aruba, for instance, 15 percent is automatically added to the bill (this is distributed to everyone, including the kitchen staff). If you were happy with the service, leave an additional 5 to 10 percent and give it directly to your waiter. When in doubt, ask the hotel staff what the local customs are for tipping at restaurants. It's confusing when Europeans travel here as well. A couple years ago, the bar at a trendy New York restaurant started automatically adding 20 percent tips to bar tabs, since waiters were sick of being stiffed by European visitors who may not have been aware of customs on our shores.

Bell man: The tipping conundrum gets all the more confusing when you arrive at a big hotel with a flotilla of staff members on hand to assist you. One person grabs your bag from the car, another wheels it to reception, and yet another delivers the luggage to your room. You could get dizzy tossing around dollar bills. It's better to give one handout when you've reached your room. The person who usually takes your bag from the car to check-in doesn't really expect to be tipped. They usually rotate their shifts (with the other porters delivering bags to rooms).

Staff in China and Japan: Believe it or not, tipping is considered rude in China and Japan, and is just not done. That goes for cab drivers, restaurant wait staff, and workers in hotels. But there is a big exception to this rule that could take even the savviest traveler by surprise. Keep reading to find out! Shuttle

Van Drivers: Those courtesy shuttles you take from the airport to the car rental parking lot, and from your hotel into town, shouldn't be viewed as a completely free ride. Whether there's a jar for tips or not, you should hand off a dollar or two to the driver as you're getting dropped off. If you have really heavy bags, give the driver a few dollars.

Hotel Housekeeping: Housekeeping is probably the most controversial—and misunderstood—tipping subject in hotels. Many people don't, but you should definitely be tipping the maid at your hotel. If you tip every day instead of at the end of your stay, you'll get the best service. A couple of dollars per day is acceptable. And when there's no official envelope for tipping, it's best to leave the money under the pillow instead of on a dresser. In the latter case, maids may think the cash is not for them, and leave it behind after they clean. I always write a short note of thank you in the language of the country I am visiting; i.e., Gracias! Even better, find your housekeeper in the hallway, and pass her a few dollars while thanking her for work well done. One caveat for this is if you are staying at a small inn or B&B. It's usually the owners themselves taking care of the tidying up, so forgoing the housekeeping tip is perfectly acceptable.

Concierge: You don't need to tip a hotel concierge for sketching the route to the best local sushi joint on your map, or arranging an airport shuttle. But if a real effort has been made to get you tickets to a sold-out show or a table at an impossible-to-book restaurant, the concierge deserves a special thank-you for his or her efforts. Tip somewhere between Travel Tips jhath62@gmail.com 732-842-7898 $5 and $20, depending on what you've requested. Slide the cash to the concierge in person, or have it delivered to them inside one of the hotel's envelopes with a brief message expressing your gratitude.

Tour Guides: Tips for guides are rarely included in tour prices, and are expected whether you were shown around the Roman Colosseum for an hour, or the Great Barrier Reef for an entire day. Generally speaking, $3 to $4 per day (in local currency) is acceptable for guides of shorter tours, and $7 to $10 per day for full-day tour guides. When in doubt, ask the tour operator what is considered an acceptable tip per person — the question comes up so often that many agencies even post the information on their websites. This is standard worldwide — even traditionally non-tipping countries like China and Japan. But making a big show of passing over a few yuan or yen is still frowned upon. Ideally, you would not give the tip directly after someone has done a favor for you. That is like paying for the service. Instead, giving the tip at a later, unexpected time would be better. Most tours in China will include transport back to your hotel or the airport, so wait until the final goodbyes, not right at the conclusion of the tour. Just taking cash out of your pocket is the worst way to tip in Japan. Put the money in an envelope and seal it before passing it to your guide.

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