Peter Shankman had a great blog post this past December about “how to get out of town painlessly” over the holidays. We were so inspired by it, we borrowed a few of our favorite ideas, and added a few of our own, on how you can get out of town painlessly over Spring Break. Remember, it’s the destination, not the journey, so you want to make this as easy as you can.

Take the first flight out. Early-morning flights have their ups and downs, of course. The benefits: Lines are shorter, you’ll have to wait less almost everywhere — except the coffee kiosk! — and if your flight is delayed for some reason, there’s a better chance you’ll get rebooked painlessly. The obvious downside: Getting up at the crack of dawn.

Don’t check a bag. It’s always a pain to check baggage, but during these times of heavy travel loads, when there are a lot of novice travelers checking a lot of baggage, now is the time to opt out completely. Consider the cost to check a big bag, possibly even an overweight one. Chances are, that’s far more than the cost of packing everything ahead of time then shipping it to your destination — all the way to your destination. If you FedEx your bag the week before you arrive, it’ll be waiting for you at the hotel after you waltz out of the airport, trying to suppress a smug giggle.

Prepare for TSA. We’ve talked about this before, because it’s one of the hardest parts of any trip: 1) Wear slip-on shoes. 2) Put everything from your pockets into your briefcase. 3) Get travel size toiletries and put them all in a 1 quart bag. 4) Use a checkpoint-friendly briefcase. 5) Pick the shortest looking line.

Consider driving instead. Bet you weren’t expecting that. Many frequent business travelers we know will drive if a trip is less than five hours away. Think of it: you have to drive to the airport, which is 30 – 40 minutes away. You have to get there at least 90 minutes early. Then a 60 minute flight, and another 30 minutes to deplane and get to your transportation. You just spent 3.5 hours getting to your destination, and that doesn’t include any delays. For an extra 90 minutes, you can be in your new destination with your own car, which also saves on car rental and cab fares. You missed the Spring Break crowds, and are riding in your own familiar surroundings.

When you’re well established and have been living somewhere for a while, it’s easy to take your social life for granted. People develop habits: happy hours, dinner groups, bowling leagues.

But when you’re taken out of that established life and plunked down somewhere new, you realize just how much time and effort it took to build that social life, and how much you need it.

Luckily, meeting new people and making friends isn’t rocket science, even if it seems like it at first. There are plenty of ways to get to know people in a new place, even in a new country and culture.

If you’re working in an office abroad, never underestimate the power of coworkers — especially if they’re also from the United States. Navigating a new area together can be a great team building exercise, and there’s always strength in numbers. You may have a better chance of linking up with a group of locals if you’re out having fun together, and it’ll be easier to break the ice that way.

If some of your coworkers have been there longer than you, ask them to show you around. Chances are they’ve already done a bit of exploring since they arrived, and they’ve already found some favorite places. Something as simple as hitting a local watering hole after work or grabbing a bite over lunch at a local restaurant can be enough to build the foundation for a great friendship.

If you find yourself in more of a solo situation, here are a few other ideas:

Congregate around sports events. Even if you’re not a big soccer, rugby or cricket fan, these and other team sports can be a huge draw for fun-loving locals abroad. Grab a pint and enjoy the game and the camaraderie.

Use the web. Meetup.com offers a lot of international meetup groups for people with all sorts of interests. Visit international.meetup.com and do a search for the area you’ll be living in, or your activity of choice. Other sites, including Yelp, are beginning to build communities abroad, too. There are plenty of ways to meet like-minded locals online.

Hang out with other expatriates. Expats are other foreigners living abroad, either temporarily or permanently, either from your own country or other parts of the world. But be careful not to isolate yourself too much — though it’s easy to surround yourself with people and new friends who have this shared experience of being from another country, expats can be a pretty insular group. Don’t forget to expand your horizons and meet the locals.

Jump into some good, old-fashioned small talk. If you’re feeling lonely, don’t be afraid to strike up a little conversation with someone nearby, whether it’s a hotel staff member, a concierge clerk, people at a nearby table at a restaurant or even someone on your bus or train to work. You might be surprised how friendly people can be when you reach out to them first.

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It’s hard to be apart from loved ones when you’re away for any length of time, but when you’re traveling for business, it’s also essential to keep in touch with your colleagues and clients — being in a foreign country isn’t an excuse for not staying in touch anymore.

Even in recent years, your only options were either buying international phone cards and relying on land lines and pay phones to check in every so often. But the more technology advances, the easier it is to stay in touch.

If your cell phone has a SIM card, you can purchase an international calling plan and swap out your domestic SIM card for an international one, which will enable you to make calls normally from your cell phone. If your cell service provider offers good international plans, this can be a great option. The same goes for texting and data plans.

Better still: Many devices, including iPads and smart phones like iPhones and Androids, have certain apps that operate best over a wifi connection. If you can get yourself to an area that has a good wireless signal and connect to that, you’ll be able to use many of the services you’re used to — including e-mail — with almost no changes and at minimal cost.

That note on wifi brings up a great option for international calling and meeting: Skype.

Skype operates on smart phones, tablets and computers, so you have a lot of access options. What’s more, you can make both voice calls and do video chats through Skype, so you can even go face-to-face with family, friends and colleagues if need be, without ever incurring international calling rates.

One last option if you’re traveling light: Internet cafes. These are everywhere throughout Europe and all over the world. For a small fee, you can connect to the Internet briefly — while enjoying a cup of coffee or a snack — and check up on your e-mail, Facebook, Twitter accounts without worrying about whether your own technology is compatible with what’s available abroad. For the cost of a SIM card and your phone calls, you may even be able to cover your communications with nothing but Internet cafes.

We asked a few people around the Travelpro office about their top tips for safety while traveling overseas. Many of our people travel frequently for business, and our own Scott Applebee used to take extended business trips to Italy when he was in another position, so we have many voices of experience to give us some tips.

When you’re traveling to any foreign country, safety is serious business — even if you’re one of those business travelers who’s at the airport twice a week and bounces around the country on a regular basis. As soon as you hop the pond, as Dorothy said, you’re not in Kansas anymore. So here are our top five tips for staying safe while you’re abroad:

Image via Wikipedia

1. Be smart about your money. If you use an ATM and are dealing with unfamiliar currency, head to the bathroom when you leave the kiosk and sort out your bills privately.
2. Don’t take rides with strangers. When you leave the airport, don’t just hop into any car with a guy who says he can take you downtown. (This may sound obvious, but being in a new place can be disorienting!) Take a taxi from an airport-sanctioned taxi stand, an official hotel shuttle or some other legitimate form of transportation. And arrive during the day, if possible, just for extra safety.
3. Keep your wits about you. It’s easy to get lost when you’re in another country, especially in old, grid less cities like Paris (again, speaking from staff experience). But resist the temptation to pull out a huge map and gawk at street signs. Looking like a tourist is just asking for trouble.
4. Inform someone back home. Make sure at least one person knows where you plan to be, for the most part. They should have all your flight information, where your hotel is, the names of anyone you’re traveling with and any side trips or big stops you’re planning. They should also have copies of all your important documents, including your passport, and access to your credit card providers’ phone numbers and your account numbers (so you can call them if your cards are ever stolen).
5. Be multilingual. If you’ve traveling to a country whose population primarily speaks a different language, make an effort to learn at least a few important phrases that you can use if you need help — or just want to seem in the know. Having some understanding of the local language and culture will automatically boost your chances of safety and success on your trip.

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No matter how often you travel, there’s something about packing that’s always a little more stressful than it ought to be. And there’s always that nagging feeling of forgetting something…

So get into the habit of packing only the bare necessities; you won’t have as many things to forget if you do. Very rarely will anyone remember what pants you were wearing on the first day if you wear them on the third day, and chances are, you won’t be lounging around in your suit after your presentation or big meeting. Just something to consider…

Here are a few guidelines for the size of your luggage, depending on how long you’ll be traveling:

• 18 to 20 inch for two to three day trip.
• 22-inch for something slightly longer, up to five days.
• Anything beyond that, you’ll probably be stuck checking a larger suitcase.

(We’ve discussed other packing tips in the past where some people have been able to manage getting seven days’ worth of clothes into a 20 inch carry-on, but these are good guidelines to start with.)

Wear your heaviest clothes on the plane if you can. Often, that’s your suit and dress shoes. Not only can those items get wrinkled, scuffed, or otherwise damaged in your carry-on luggage — we recommend shoe bags if you must pack them — but they also take up a considerable amount of space, especially footwear.

Not to mention, wearing your business finest to the airport could prove lucky…you never know who you might meet at your gate. Never underestimate the power of on-the-go networking.

Don’t overlook garment bags: Back in December, Peter Kessler, “the voice of golf” and regular business traveler, raved about Travelpro’s Platinum 7 Suiter on his blog. A well-made garment bag with all your shirts, jackets and pants inside will leave your most important clothes kink-free for a big day in the boardroom or presentation room.

If your clothes still need a refresh, you have several in-room options: First, check your closet for an iron, which comes standard with almost every room. You can also shower with your clothes: Hang them in the bathroom while you enjoy a nice, hot one. You can press out small wrinkles with your hands after the steam does its work. Or, if you have the time and wherewithal for it, many hotels also offer dry cleaning and pressing services. Leave them with your housekeeping staff before you leave for the day, and you’ll have them back in no time.

Clothes aren’t the only thing to consider, of course. How about toiletries?

If you’ll be carrying on, size is obviously a concern. Often it’s better not to worry about packing precisely 3 ounces of each of your favorite toiletries. Instead, just use what your hotel provides for your showers. And if you forgot something, many hotels have plenty of supplies behind the front desk in case of emergency, whether it’s a toothbrush, toothpaste, razor or some other essential. This is especially useful if you took a red-eye or arrived late after a long-delayed flight. Even if the provisions are just tiding you over, they’ll ease your stress and get your trip off on a better foot.

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Who says there’s no good news in the papers anymore? In late November, the L.A. Times did a story on politicians goingto bat for passengers rights by tackling that hassle of the highest order: baggage fees.

Mary Landrieu, a Democratic senator from Louisiana, introduced proposed legislation just before Thanksgiving that would allow airline passengers — by law — to check one suitcase, gratis, per flight. That allowance is only one part of a larger proposal that would keep carry-on baggage free and guarantee travelers access to water and bathrooms throughout their flights.

If you do choose to check your bags, most airlines charge $25 (or more!) for your first bag and additional charges for second and third bags.

But what if you want to avoid those fees? Carrying bags on is a real source of stress for air travelers. Let’s start at the security line. Those used to checking bags — and therefore not accustomed to TSA restrictions on liquids and other items — can cause real hold-ups in line. (It’s stressful for everyone around, too.)

In the Times article, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said that carry-on bags increase screening costs nationwide by $260 million a year.

If you thought that TSA line was long and slow, wait until you actually start boarding. Passengers now have to be ready to fight tooth and nail for a coveted spot in an overhead bin for their Rollaboards or business briefcases. That jockeying for bin space — and the inevitable scramble to gate check a bag (for free, by the way) when the last passengers to board can’t find space — not only slows down the boarding and deplaning process, but it’s also fostering animosity among already-stressed travelers who have to share a very small space for the next few hours. This has also made flight attendants’ jobs understandably more challenging as they attempt to keep customer’s happy and ensure that the doors of the overflowing overhead bins are closed and secure.

Most airplanes are built with a huge area underneath for storing luggage and other items. As fewer people check bags to avoid checked-bag fees, that space is going largely unused. Meanwhile, people are fighting for on board bag space and hoping they’ll find a place for their feet afterward. The system as it stands now is counterproductive — and it should change.

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If you fly often, you might feel yourself starting to get run down after a busy week of travel. It’s a lot harder to take care of yourself when you’re on the road…you don’t have all the familiar trappings of home: your bed, your kitchen, your gym.

But there are ways to stay active and healthy when you’re traveling. I should know — I’ve struggled with a lot of the same health concerns other frequent business travelers do: exercise and diet. Here are a few tips to help you live healthier on the go as a business traveler:

Exercise

I’m not talking about doing jumping jacks in the aisles or crunches in the lavatory. But there are plenty of ways to keep active during a busy day of travel beyond running from one delayed flight to another.

The security line is a great place to start: Do little stretches or neck rolls while you’re waiting to get through TSA. And before your flight, instead of sitting at the gate checking your BlackBerry, take a quick walk around the terminal if you have time.

Deep-vein thrombosis, also called “economy class syndrome,” can cause deadly blood clots in travelers on long flights. Keeping moving as much as possible — even in those cramped quarters of the airplane — will help you avoid things like this. When the captain turns off the “Fasten Seat Belts” light, use that freedom to move about the cabin. Even getting up to grab something from the overhead compartment or walking back to the lavatory makes an important difference.

You don't have to eat all this stuff, but one or two pieces on the way to the airport would help. (Image via Wikipedia)

Diet

If you’re in a morning rush at the airport, even if the bulk of your meal is a Danish or huge cup of coffee, sneak in an apple, orange or banana at breakfast when you can — these are fairly easy to find in most airports. Same goes for salads at lunch. Adding in healthier options like fruits, vegetables and whole grains is more important than completely overhauling the way you eat when you travel. Nobody’s perfect!

If you find yourself hitting the airport convenience store on a regular basis for chips or candy bars, consider saving a little extra money and cutting unnecessary calories by keeping a little stock of granola bars, energy bars, fruit bars, or other healthy on-the-go snacks when a craving hits.

One final note: Planes are notoriously dry — with a humidity level of 10 to 20 percent, much lower than typical indoor humidity of 30 to 65 percent — and staying hydrated is so important. You may not be able to bring full bottles of water through security anymore, but there are ways around this. Bring an empty refillable bottle in your carry-on. Buy a bottle at the convenience store or terminal Starbucks. Ask for water instead of coffee or soda during your flight’s beverage service.

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A Modern Luggage Innovation that Changed the Way we Travel

(Boca Raton, Fla. – Jan. 9, 2012)—Travelpro will celebrate its 25th Anniversary of the invention of Rollaboard luggage throughout 2012 with an array of promotions, dynamic new product introductions, special events and media co-ops.

It all started when Robert Plath, a pilot for Northwest Airlines, changed the physical orientation of luggage from horizontal to vertical, added large wheels and an extension handle; hence, inventing the Rollaboard, an entirely new way to transport personal belongings while traveling.

“When Travelpro founder, Robert Path, invented the original Rollaboard in his garage in 1987, he not only changed the way people traveled but his new invention helped energize the entire travel goods industry,” said Scott Applebee, Vice President of Marketing for Travelpro. “The Rollaboard also led to the creation of the company, Travelpro, which immediately became an industry leader due to his powerful innovation.”

Plath founded Travelpro and began providing Rollaboard luggage to airline flight crews and pilots. The idea was so universally successful with the airline crews, Travelpro launched the product commercially through retail stores in the early 90’s and has been changing the way consumers travel ever since.

In 1994, Travelpro was ranked as one of the fastest growing private companies by Inc. Magazine. Recently, Inc. Magazine listed Plath’s Rollaboard invention as one of the top innovations in modern history. In November 2011, in a Discovery Channel program entitled, “What’s America Worth?” the invention was highlighted as one of the leading examples of how innovation adds value to a country’s net worth. Numerous awards have followed including winning the 2009 and 2010 Leading Edge Award from Executive Travel Magazine for “The Best Carry-on Case.” Its luggage also had a co-starring role in the multi-Oscar nominated film “Up in the Air”, starring George Clooney.

Today, Travelpro has continued to grow its reputation of innovation and style as one of the leading luggage brands worldwide. Travelpro luggage is now used by over 80 airlines globally and is sold commercially throughout the world.

Travelpro manufactures numerous luggage collections including Platinum 7, Crew™ 8, FlightPro LITE, Walkabout Lite 4, Maxlite 2 Rollaboards and Spinners, Executive Pro™ and Tpro Bold ™. These collections represent the best of the best for innovation, quality and value. Additionally, Travelpro purchased the well-respected Atlantic Luggage and Austin House to fortify its brand presence in the Luggage and Travel Accessories industry.

For more information about Travelpro, please visit the Travelpro website for a complete list of the latest products and retail locations. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Just as the holiday travel season was getting under way, CNN published an article by Brett Snyder, the blogger at “The Cranky Flier.” Snyder discussed the new plan just set forth by the federal government to help shore up some revenue losses from the economic dip we’ve experienced these past few years.

It’s a two-pronged plan. The first part would simply increase the security fees levied on travelers when they fly. (And those costs would likely be passed directly on to passengers when they book flights.) But the second part is a bigger tax that would have pretty major implications for certain parts of the country: a $100 tax on every flight that takes off from any airport in any US city.

For big cities already served by a major airport — or sometimes even more than one — this proposed tax likely wouldn’t have much of an effect. The volume of travelers coming through and the sizes of the planes that take off from and land at these airports would allow these costs to be fanned out to the point where nobody has to feel too much pain. As little as $.50 per passenger.

But for smaller cities with smaller airports, which are often served by smaller aircraft, a $100 fee per plane is steep. Snyder points out in his article that for airports served by small, 19-seat aircrafts, the tax would add more than $5 per seat for a completely full flight. (That number obviously goes up when loads are lighter.)

This proposed tax could actually squeeze smaller metropolitan areas out of the airport business altogether because they either can’t afford the fees based on their volume — or they just won’t be able to justify staying open for reduced passenger loads when air travel plummets because travelers can’t afford to fly anymore.

There are a number of groups that are against these proposed taxes, including StopAirTaxNow.com (an airline industry group) and the American Aviation Institute. Only time will tell what happens here, but this year’s projected travel numbers paint a pretty clear picture that travelers know they still have options: of the 42.5 million travelers who traveled at least 50 miles this year for Thanksgiving, 38.2 million of them (that’s 90 percent!) chose to drive — up 4 percent from last year’s numbers.

A $100 tax could have a further slowing of airline travel, which could not only put small city airports out of business, but could have an opposite effect of the one the government is hoping to achieve.

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Our friend and travel-writing hero, Mark Eveleigh, has been doling out some pretty great travel advice on a number of different blogs, and his latest one — The First 40 Minutes on RoundTheWorldFlights.com — really caught our eye.

In it, Eveleigh details some of the different traps and pitfalls that international travelers, especially backpackers, can fall into if they’re not careful.

We found a few of our favorite tips, and think they’re especially important, whether you’re an adventure traveler on a backpacking trip around the Far East, or a business traveler landing in Mexico City, or even Chicago.

1) Don’t arrive late at night when security is lax, taxis are expensive, and you’re too sleepy to be fully alert. This is true whether you’re landing in London or touching down in Thailand. You need to be alert, even if it’s just to make sure you get the right airport shuttle, and don’t inadvertently leave something behind.

2) Know in advance what the exchange rate is, and if possible, try to arrive with enough local currency to get you through the first night. We’ve talked before about how credit cards are going to be your best bet to finding the best exchange rate. But also, the worst places to exchange money are right there in the airport — exchange rates are not in your favor in most places, but especially in the place where people are in a rush to change their money. Find a bank away from the airport to make exchanges the next day.

5) If there’s a domestic terminal in the same airport, head there and take a (often cheaper) taxi from the same stand where you see locals waiting. Some taxi services see international travelers as a way to make a little extra cash, especially if you show up wearing a suit, but that doesn’t mean you have to fall victim to it. Walk over to the domestic terminal, step outside there, and catch your cab on that end. The prices may be a little cheaper, and you are less likely to be taken advantage of. And, be sure to take only an official taxi, don’t get a ride with someone who says they’re “just as good.”

7) Don’t let yourself be rushed into anything — it can be a benefit in a particularly hassled airport simply to grab a seat at a cafe and ‘people-watch’ for half an hour. We know from personal experience that it’s easy to get caught up in the stampede of people all rushing to get off the plane, get out of the airport, and get to your destination. If you’re in a brand new country and a brand new culture, don’t get caught up in the rush and miss something important. Take a few minutes, sit down, relax, and soak up some of the atmosphere. Get an idea of what’s going on, plan out your next step (probably the hotel), and then move to the taxi stand or shuttle station at your own pace.

Going to a new country can be frightening for some people. But if you plan in advance, move at your own pace, and — this is especially important — look like you know what you’re doing, you can get to where you need to be without any hassle or problems.

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