Vacation tips

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Vacation is a fun, sometimes educational experience. These days people are taking along in-car televisions, and dvd players and I think missing a lot of what vacations used to offer.

As a kid I remember driving through the West and Southwestern United States. I learned what every license plate looked like and how the sunsets in Nebraska and New Mexico differed. I memorized the smell of citrus when we traveled through Phoenix and could almost feel the ocean before we ever saw it in California.

When you’re vacationing I’ve found that you get a lot more out of the experience if you by playing traditional road trip games, such as the alphabet game where you watch for road signs that have the next chronological alphabet, or the license plate game where you list the names of States alphabetically and try to find a license place from each of the 50 states. My family is originally from Austria and my parents taught us all the old German folks songs on our trips.

Another fun part of taking the car on vacation is stopping at roadside markers in places of interest. We learned more about the history of the United States from these stops than our of any books because we felt a part of the history!

Another vacation tip for this summer would be to not worry so much about going to the popular destinations such as Disneyland. On off years it’s okay to take mini vacations around you’re the state you live. Some of my best memories are of a year when we went to a different part of Texas each weekend for 2 or 3 months. We saw the old Southern charm of places like Waxahachi, the TexMex fun of San Antonio and visited the State Capitol in Austin. It was truly one of the most fun and rewarding “vacations” we had!

Hotel Stays

Booking a hotel reservation is usually a good idea and you can look for deals online before hand. Also be sure to ask about any specials or discounts when you’re booking, you’ll be surprised by how often hotels will give you a deal for the asking. If you are traveling to larger cities or staying at premium hotels you might try to avoid valet service. Although this sounds like a lot of fun it can cost you $15-$20 each time you let someone “help” you.

One year my friends and I took a costal trip along the Pacific coastline in California. We were excited the first day we stopped at our classy hotel because the employees were so nice and helpful – then we realized we would be eating dinner out of a vending machine that night!

How to avoid valet service?

Park your own car --- the walk back isn’t that bad and after sitting all day it’ll actually feel good.

Try entering at a side door when you’re bringing in you bags. If someone offers to help you simply say, “No, thanks, I’ve got it,” and move on!

If you do want or need help keep these guidelines in mind:

Bell Services/Porter:
The bellman should normally be tipped $1-2 per bag when delivering your bags to your room. It's customary to tip on arrival and departure.

If you are using a porter service at the airlines the normal tip is also $1-2 per bag.

Taxi/Towncar Service/Valet Parking:
Taxi drivers should be tipped 15% of the total fare or 25¢ a minute, whichever is higher.

If you are using a Towncar service to get to and from the airport it's customary to tip 10-15% each way. There is the possibility you will have a different driver on your return trip.

If you are using valet parking it is customary to tip $1-2 for both arrival and departure.

Restaurants/Buffets/Lounges:
One of the most important things to remember when dining is that the tip is based on the service, not the quality of the food. The standard tip in a full-service restaurant is 15%-20% of the total bill. If you are using a coupon, or other discount, the tip should be based on the full price before the discount is applied. If you've had exceptional service a great way to show it is to leave a bigger tip than normal. Along those same lines, if the service is below par you can make a statement by leaving a much lesser tip. Depending on how badly it is you can leave 25¢ to 10% to show that the tip was not forgotten.

Dining at an all-you-can-eat buffet can sometimes be confusing. Do you tip or not? Generally a 15% tip is warranted. The server is bringing you your refreshments and cleaning the table off afterwards.

If you have a pre-dinner drink, or enjoy a relaxing sit-down at one of Disney's lounges, it is customary to leave the server a small tip. Depending on the service, it should be 10% or more of the total bill.

The most important thing is to have fun – keep in mind why you’re on vacation and make the most of that reason. If you’re there to spend time with your family take advantage of the extra time you have while you’re there or on the way to your destination.

If your goal is to relax, take it easy! Go to the beach alone, don’t worry so much about money or how “cool” your trip is. Take time to be alone and do things you haven’t had time for, like catching up on your reading!

Take some time with your spouse. Most hotels have childcare services or keep your kids within eye distance but try to have some private time to just talk and hold hands. Vacations should be fun for everyone and can be if you keep the mood light and don’t try to cram too much into the few days you have off

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