Enjoyable vacation begins with smart travel plans

Traveling well is, like most things, a skill that can be learned from a good teacher. When searching out professors of the traveling arts, it makes sense to begin with those who travel -- and travel a lot -- whether for business or pleasure.

With that notion -- and a desire to fit in another vacation or two before summer departs -- in mind, we asked a few hard-traveling Southern Nevadans to share some of the tips, tricks and techniques they've discovered, devised or stumbled upon over the years.

Here are some of their ideas, many of which are adaptable not only to air travel but for road trips, rail excursions and cruises, too.

Before you go

Packing effectively -- finding the perfect balance between things packed and things actually needed -- is a handy skill for any traveler. But with airlines enforcing checked-bag weight limits and carry-on regulations -- and, on most airlines, charging a fee for every bag checked -- effective packing is particularly vital for travelers who are taking to the air.

Maria Lilibeth Ruiz, director of marketing for Prestige Travel and Cruises American Express, makes do on most trips with a 21-inch carry-on. That and a large purse that counts as her one allowable personal item have served her well on everything from weekend to weeklong jaunts.

However, Ruiz has found it handy to pack inside of her large purse a smaller bag. In the latter, she keeps her passport, driver's license, boarding pass and travel documents for easy accessibility. Then, when she arrives at her destination, she takes the smaller bag on day trips and leaves the large one in her room or cabin.

Ruiz also packs in the big purse "a very soft type of bag made out of net or something." On the way back, she can use that bag to hold souvenirs or other purchases that she's taking home. If so, her carry-on becomes her checked bag and the purse and the extra bag become her carry-on items.

Of course, sticking to one carry-on does require some packing savvy. Ruiz assembles her trip wardrobe by focusing on a color scheme of, say, two colors -- black and white, perhaps -- fleshed out with a few colorful accessories.

On a business trip, she might pack a pair of pants, a few skirts, a few blouses and a jacket that works with all of them. Then, she says, "I always bring a lot of scarves" to change up the look.

By the way, Ruiz has found that rolling, rather than folding, her clothes gives her more space in her carry-on.

Carole Fisher, president and chief executive officer of Nathan Adelson Hospice, passes on heavy garment bags and hangs her suits in a double layer of the thin plastic bags in which dry cleaners return clothing.

"I fold the suit over gently and put the suit in the suitcase," she says. "Sometimes, depending on the size of the suitcase, I might have to fold twice. But (the suit) very rarely wrinkles."

If it does wrinkle, Fisher has found that hanging the suit in the bathroom while you're showering will remove the wrinkles without the need to iron.

While en route

For good or ill, Americans have become attached to personal electronic items. Fisher makes it a point to charge such devices -- cellphones, iPods, iPads, Kindles -- to full the night before leaving on a trip.

Then, remember to pack any needed chargers (maybe in one small bag, so all can be found in one place when you need them). Fisher suggests putting them in your carry-on, lest they be waylaid with a misdirected checked bag.

At the airport, pass on those pricey charging stations. Instead, Fisher says, scout out a regular wall outlet in the terminal, pull up a piece of floor and charge away for free.

Ruiz makes sure the shoes she wears on travel day are laceless to minimize security checkpoint hassles. She also suggests packing a few pairs of disposable socks -- online travel shops sell five-pair packs for about $10 -- that "you can just slip on there and, afterwards, just throw them out."

Another tip: Instead of dumping keys, watch, change and other loose items in one of those security gate dog dishes, place them in a clear plastic bag before entering the checkpoint and put them inside of your carry-on. Once you pass through, the items can be easily retrieved all at once, with minimal chance of losing anything.

By the way, Fisher likes to park her car in roughly the same place -- on the same level and in about the same area -- of the airport parking garage whenever she can. That makes it easier to find the car at the end of the trip.

In the same vein, use your smartphone to send an email or text message to yourself in which you note your car's level, aisle and space number. When you return, check your email, find your car and drive away.

When you arrive

Whenever she travels, Ruiz makes a point of stowing away $1 bills to distribute as tips. Even in Europe and elsewhere, she says, people still seem happy to accept U.S. dollars.

And never underestimate the power of pre-emptive tipping. Christian Hardigree, an attorney and chair of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Hotel Management Department, notes that most people tip valets, maids and other such people after they've provided a service. But, she says, tipping people early probably will guarantee great service throughout your stay.

Hardigree often finds herself traveling to conferences and seminars to speak about issues of interest to hoteliers. Among those issues: bedbugs.

The subject has gotten much media play in recent years. And, Hardigree admits, the bedbug issue "has changed how I travel."

When she arrives at a hotel, she checks the bed and other likely surfaces for telltale signs of infestation. Also, she says, "I ask questions at the front desk, whether they've had any reports of people being bitten or of infestations."

Desk clerks can be surprisingly candid. "One said, 'We haven't had any really bad infestations in over a year,' " Hardigree recalls.

In addition, Hardigree no longer stows her luggage on the hotel room's bed and, upon returning home, unpacks in the garage, lest hitchhiking bedbugs gain access to her home. She also gives her unpacked clothing -- even shoes, stuffed in pillowcases -- a spin in a medium-heat clothes dryer for 20 minutes.

Once she has settled in her hotel room, Hardigree takes a page from Mom and Dad's vacation playbook and searches out a nearby market to pick up some inexpensive munchies.

"Room service is so expensive, and frequently my per diem won't cover it," she says. "I find some market where I can buy some apples, some berries, some fruit and a bottle of wine for that evening. So I stock up and head back to my room."

By the way, filling a cooler in the trunk with fruit, cheese, sandwiches and bottled water or soft drinks is a time-honored, and money-saving, road trip tactic, too.

Here's a tip you surely hadn't thought of and didn't want to: Never, ever use the hotel room's ice bucket without its plastic bag insert. "There have been instances of people having used those for other purposes," Hardigree explains, leaving the specifics to your imagination.

And if you're traveling with young children, call the hotel beforehand and ask if the cribs and baby equipment they offer are safe and have not been recalled.

A final tip

Be nice.

First, be nice because it's the right thing to do. But, beyond that, there's a good chance that, at one point or another, something will go wrong on your trip. And when it does, it's amazing how handy it is to have a hotel or airline staff member on your side to provide anything from unofficial concierge service to a first-class seat after an involuntary layover.

"You make the choice when something goes wrong: Am I going to handle it by being an ass, or am I going to handle it with some sense of perspective?" Hardigree explains.

People often "get jammed up over things the people they're yelling at have no ability to control," she notes. "So, I think it's important that people just anticipate that things may change, and enjoy it for the experience of travel."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.