# NYP-20: Tips & Tricks for Vacation Flying Post-Pandemic
### Episode Link: www.ngoyourpotential.com

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## Before your trip
- Check to see that your passport is valid! (Expiration date is good, enough pages in your passport).
Visa requirements for countries you plan to visit.

- Being organized is SO important when it comes to travel!

- Make a simple sheet or add it into your calendar notes, all your flight details (airline, flight numbers, time, confirmation #) + all your hotel information (Hotel name, address, telephone #) Save this list for yourself, give it to a family/friend also, just in case.

- Use Google Map to keep track of everything! (Restaurants, attractions, grocery stores, reviews, pictures, opening/closing times, etc.) Create a folder/list for each city you visit.
Google Maps offline feature. Download before going.

- Pack 90% 2-3 days before. Pack all your charging wires + pills (Advil, gravol, allergy, pepto, sleeping pills, etc.)

- Never check your pills in baggage. Keep them on carry-on/on person. Especially essentials (diabetes medication).

- Buy/pack your portable charger + speakers

- Avoid checking in luggage. Pack lighter. Try to fit everything into a carry on + duffel bag. No liquids over 100ml.

- Call a taxi the day before to schedule your pickup

- Check in online 24 hours before

- Buy a scale to weigh your bag if you’re checking luggage in to avoid needing to fix your bag at the airport counter

- Take a picture of your passport + luggage. Save it on your phone/in the cloud

- Add extra tags on your luggage with your home address and contact info in case your suitcase gets lost

- Add a tracker / AirTag

- Exchange money at home. You usually get a better rate.

## Day of Travel

- Check to make sure you have YOUR passport(s) before you leave the house! Wallet + money

- Check your flight on Google before you leave your house to make sure it’s not delayed or canceled

- Arrive 3-4 hours before flight
Not enough workers, be nice and courteous to airport employees

- Take a few extra seconds to check for shorter lines, don’t be someone that just automatically lines up in the first line they see.

- On very few occasions, sometimes it’s better to not use the Priority/NEXUS line… it’s a bottleneck line. Use your judgment.

- Charge your phone at the airport / or on the plane if possible. (Better too much juice than out of juice.)

- When lining up to go through a security check, put all your loose items into your bag/purse. (watch, bracelets, rings, coins, cell phone, etc.) To avoid having loose items in the bucket to prevent loss/theft but also to avoid forgetting them in there.

- Buy a bottle of water before getting on the plane. Sometimes I’ve had to wait an hour on the plane before being given anything to drink.

- If you’re flying somewhere that has a time difference, try to acclimate to that time. If it’s night time where you’re flying to and it’s daytime for you when you’re going, try to sleep and vice versa.

- Spend 10-15 minutes stretching on the plane before it lands to wake your body up to prepare yourself for going through the airport.

- Try using the washroom before you get off the plane so you can save time and get to the security/customs as quickly as possible. Every 1 person you walk past before getting to customs will save you a couple of minutes waiting in line.

- NEXUS/Global Entry super good investment flying into Canada/US to make Customs less of a hassle.

- Pay attention to see which belt your luggage is coming off of. When you’re there, try to stand a couple of feet away from the belt so people can see the luggages passing by instead of being huddled there and no one is able to see the luggages properly.

## During your vacation

- Go to the grocery store as soon as you check in to your hotel or airbnb.

- Spend some time on Google Map to see which restaurants are near you, how far, reviews, ratings, pictures of food, etc.

- Try to find a hotel/airbnb near the center of the city so it’s convenient to go to all the attractions/restaurants. Everything is within walking distance.

- Take small breaks during the day. Explore for 2-3 hours and then take a snack break or even go back to airbnb/hotel if it’s close to freshen up/upload pictures, messages etc.

- Only 1 person needs data roaming on. It’s EXPENSIVE! Doesn’t make sense for both spouses to pay that $15/day. 1 person should always have internet at all times.

- Be weary of free wifi connections! As tempting as it is, you never know if it’s a fake wifi connection by hackers trying to steal your info/data.

- Be mindful and weary of your belongings. (luggage, purse, wallet, phones, etc.)

- Shop when you get there. Liquids + clothing. (Duty free)

- Maximize your duty free shopping if you’re about that. $800 CAD duty free for Canada when you are out of the country for more than 48 hours.

## Flying home

- Stay clean/organized during the trip so you have less to pack the day before.

- Check in 24 hours before flight

- Weigh your luggage if you are checking your pack in.

- Plan and calculate the time required to go from your airbnb/hotel to the airport. Maybe a train is faster during traffic, maybe a taxi is better if you have more luggage.

- It’s not always cheaper because you’re taking public transportation. 4 people taking a train = 40 Euro, 4 people taking a taxi is 50 Euro.

- When you purchase goods in Europe for example, it’s 22% VAT. You can claim back roughly 11% of the VAT so long as you ask the store to provide you with the proper receipt, which you’ll need to provide them with your passport.

- Declare your purchases to avoid getting in trouble with customs and being blacklisted! Duties on luxury goods made in Europe are 5%, taxes are 10%. Total is 15%

- For a family of 4, the agent was kind and combined our $800 duty free each to = $3,200 total between our whole family. We only had to pay the 15% taxes on anything above our $3,200 limit.

- What happens if you don’t declare something and get caught by customs? They charge 40% on everything you brought back. You get black listed for 7 years. Means every time you come back into the country, they will 100% pull you into secondary check and will open up your luggage and check EVERYTHING thoroughly. This could be an extra 30 mins or 2 hours from the time you arrive back to your home airport.

## Lost luggage
- Credit card insurance - read the fineprint!

- Delays
- You can use FlightAware to check the incoming flight to anticipate a delay

- Cancellations
- If it’s a bad day, sometimes they won’t be able to book a hotel for you
- [Canadians: Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR)](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/air-passenger-protection-regulations-highlights)
- For situations that are within the airline’s control, such as overbooking or mechanical malfunctions during routine maintenance, airlines are required to provide the following compensation:
- Between $125 - $1000 depending on your airline and number of hours delayed.