Use a lock box for your car keys when diving from shore

 A real-estate lock box is a padlock-shaped box that generally hangs around the doorknob of a house that is on the market. The device holds the keys to a house, but in this case for your car. Just put the lock box on your car door handle.

 or the dive bag you travel with.  Not only does it smell good but you may need to use them. Especially in the third world or budget hotels where soap may not always be provided.  Those small bars have bailed me out twice now.

 When traveling to places where tap water is not advised to consume, order soda waters. Regular water is easy to fake, rebottle, reseal. However, soda water is not easily "re-bottled."

 Now you can track your luggage with free apps available from several airlines by simply imputing your bag receipt number.

 This is a great way to back up a claim to the airline or insurance company in case of loss.

 Just in case your checked in baggage gets delayed or stolen, at least you can go diving. :) 

 Don’t sweat the stuff you can’t control. Life is much too short to be angry & annoyed all the time. Did you miss your bus? No worries, there will be another one. ATMs out of money? Great! Take an unplanned road trip over to the next town and explore. Sometimes freakouts happen regardless. Just take a deep breath and remind yourself that it could be worse. 

  I love my earplugs! Muffle the sounds of crying babies, drunk Australians, barking dogs, honking horns, dormitory sex, natural gas salesmen, and more. Ear plugs are a traveler’s best friend. 

 Cash is king around the world. To cover your ass in an emergency, make sure to stash some in a few different places. I recommend at least a couple hundred dollars worth. If you lose your wallet, your card stops working, or the ATMs run out of money, you’ll be glad you did. Some of my favorite stash spots include socks, a toiletry bag, or sewn behind a patch on your bag. 

 It makes coming back to the USA after a long trip a breeze. No more waiting in the lines when all you want to do is go home, have a shower and sleep after a transatlantic flight. Participants may enter the United States by using automated kiosks located at select airports. 

 Pack a light weight but durable shopping or tote bag in an easy to get to location in your checked luggage.  If you are overweight at check-in, transfer a few heavier items to the tote, drop your purse in on top and you’ll still be within size/weight regulations. 

  For shorter travels, take a train ride. It is often faster than going trough security at airports, take taxis to the city. It is also so much more scenic. Plus, train stations tend to be located at the heart of the city, unlike airports .

 Packing for a trip is infinitely easier when you’ve just done laundry. 

 When the bugs and mosquitoes are killing you and nothing works, try to rub yourself with fabric softener or put a few sheets in your pocket. 

  You will save a tremendous amount of money by not buying $7 waters at airports. 

 Visit your local beauty supplier and ask for a variety of sample size products before your next weekend getaway. Not only your bag will be lighter, but it also gives you a chance to try different products. 

 If you take prescription medications, keep them in the original containers, with the pharmacy label, & in quantities reasonably consistent with personal use. Have a letter from the prescribing physician to attest the prescriptions are legitimate. 

 Wear flip-flops to the airport, as they are quickly doffed & donned at the TSA checkpoints. Although on my last flight a couple months ago, I just left them in my carry-on & went barefoot. 

For comfort and a smooth ride, pick a seat over the wings. For silence, sit as far forward as possible, but avoid the galley and rest rooms. For leg room, try the first row or seats beside the emergency exits.  

  In the forest of black bags your bag tag will stand out and locating your bag will become much easier than before. 

 Take a big dry bag or a zip-lock bag with you for your next dive day! After the dive you can put your wet bathing suit and towel in it, so the rest of your luggage can stay dry. 

 User-review sites have changed the way most people plan their travel, giving us an enormously useful tool for evaluating hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions and the like. TripAdvisor.com is the big kahuna, with more than 20 million reviews, mostly of hotels — but also less traditional lodging like B&Bs, villas and private homes  — as well as restaurants and attractions. 

 There's no advantage in holding on to frequent-flyer miles, as there's no way of knowing whether they'll be worth anything down the road. Miles typically expire within 18 months (though that deadline may be deferred if you keep your account active, either by flying or using an airline-reward credit card that is linked to your account), so get a free flight — or golf clubs, electronics, magazines or anything else the airline lets you trade miles for — while you can. 

 I created a folder in my email box labeled "travel" and keep my itinerary, a scanned version of my passport and my credit cards in it. In case my cards get stolen, I can call my bank, in case I loose my bag with my important papers, I can look up and re-print my tickets and go to the embassy to request a new passport without much hassle. 

 Even on hot and humid days you might get cold on the air-conditioned plane. 

 When there are three seats in a row on an airplane and you are traveling with your other half, book one aisle and one window seat. Bet on the fact that nobody will request a middle seat. 

   When traveling to foreign countries, ask the hotel receptionist to write down the hotel's Name and address in their native language, so you can just hand it to your taxi driver.  

  Your iPhone will cost you if you take it (One Europe trip where I made no calls cost $527) as it continues to get mail, etc. Buy a "Data Plan" for $20 before your go and save the other $507 for something fun. 

  Take old clothes with you if diving in Third World countries. Wash at end of trip and give t shirts etc. away to local kids. They love them.

  Paper tissue has so many more use than just to stop a runny nose: use it to clean your face on a hot day, many public bathrooms do not equip the toilets with paper, pack leftover food in it for the road...

 This is great-especially with a room-mate! Avoid those 'telltale' smells from the restroom! Plus, musty wetsuit smells will also be wiped out! 

  Bring them is in a few different sizes. Great for : leaky stuff you may bring back, seashells you collect, putting all the brochures and little mementos for your scrapbook in one place, coins from the country you visited... 

 When I travel, I pick out my daily apparel before I leave on my trip. I roll up my panty, t-shirt and bra for each day in the pants I will wear them with. This way no miss-matching will occur.

 Add your name to the inside and outside of your bag in case your luggage tag accidentally removed in transit. The easiest way for airline employees to find you is to make an extra copy of your itinerary and place it inside your bag. 

  Do not carry your passport around, leave it in the safe in your hotel. A photocopy will suffice if local law states that you need to. 

 This is true of any air travel really, you don't want to see how airport crew handles your luggage. "Fragile" has very little meaning, if anything. You will not have to worry about searching for the right baggage claim or talk to an agent if a bag gets lost.  

  While traveling you will experience temperature changes as you go in and out of terminals, countries…  

 …in places with high crime. It is better that others think that somebody is waiting for you in your hotel. 

    Just in case you get robbed… it is better to have one credit card and some cash hidden somewhere in your bag. 

   Not every country will recognize the one you got at home. Go to AAA (within the US) to get one!    

   Bring a copy of your passport, green card (if needed), driver license, credit cards (back as well, so you can see the phone numbers to call in case it gets stolen) 

   The ancients used to take it when going on a long trip on a boat. You can use it on dive boats as well as when flying. It's better than motion sickness drugs –it doesn’t make you sleepy. 

  People with special requests always get served first on flights (if they offer food at all). You need to reserve your special food at the time of booking, as doing it at the check in desk is normally too late to do so. 

   When buying airline tickets online, call the airline to get seat assignment immediately if no seat assignment is given. Due to overbooking, getting seat assignment in advance can reduce the risk of getting 'bumped'! 

  he TSA (Travel and Safety Administration) developed locks that security officers can open with special master keys. Be sure that you use these TSA-approved locks to keep your baggage safe! 

  Carry your passport, credit cards, money, lip gloss in it while traveling, so you don’t have to get up from your seat to get things from your bag; also you don’t have to worry about people stealing your valuable items while you are asleep. 

  It can take for ever to get food after take off, if getting any. Mostly, on shorter flights they don’t even serve meals anymore.  

  You can never know when a great travel opportunity might comes up. Be always ready for adventures on a last minute notice!