These foreign travel tips are from my own experience.

While you go on foreign travel, you should always drink bottled water to be on safer side. The simple reason is water contains different sets of microbes and mineral deposits that your body might not be used to. Even if the water is normal filtered but tap water, you should better avoid it.

The local residents are used to the water quality whether it’s pure or impure, but foreign travelers most of the times fall prey due to change in water. Rather than investigating the reason later, it’s important to take the precaution.

Don’t buy bottled water at hotels or airports if it’s not necessary and if you are buying it for extra storage. After reaching to your destination, buy it from the local super market, and you would get 2 bottles in the prize of 1 bottle almost.

When in the foreign country, check with someone about the best brand in bottled water in that particular country. I have experience of bottled water not being good quality if the brand is not known.

Make sure that the bottled water is completely sealed and the seal is not tampered with at all.

Use bottled water for anything you would do that gets the water in your mouth. For ex: Rinsing the tooth brush shall be done by bottled water too.

Do not use Ice in hotels in soft drinks or liquor. Rather order for a chilled drink without ice. Most of the hotels, would pour the soft drink in a glass and add couple of ice cubes. If that happens, change the soft drink right in front of you.

Be safe, and drink bottled water in your foreign tours.

Researching before traveling is vital. Go online, visit travel websites and consult more than one travel agent to get good deals. Pick up travel magazines and books like Lonely Planet that give you an extensive idea on the place, budget stays and attractions.

Here are some tips for your convenient travel.

• If you’re sure of your traveling dates, book your tickets and accommodation in advance.
• Explore options during off-season since discounts are higher.
• Most advertisers quote air fare without the taxes. So while a discounted ticket to London may seem very attractive, remember that you also have to pay taxes above and beyond the ticket price.
• Check what your accommodation package entails — breakfast and airport transfers are not always included.
• Sight-seeing costs more than what people expect. For instance, the entry into Centosa Island in Singapore might be paid for, but you might have to pay for the attractions like the 4D cinema.
• Avoid stopover expenses because you might end up spending more. Try to look for relatives’ or friends’ places to stay, as hotel charges are usually higher than you expect.
• Your routine medicines should be a part of your kit, otherwise you might end up paying huge sums on doctor’s consultation fee. Even for your regular medication, particularly for drugs which are sedative in nature, carry a valid prescription with the seal and registration number of the doctor to avoid legal hassles.
• If you’re holidaying with your family, consider teaming up with other friends or relatives to get attractive bulk deals.
• Some European countries offer home-stays, which work out cheaper than hotels and offer a more enriching experience.

Above all this, never forget the benefits of traveling light - that will save you from lot of hassles.

How about taking a breakfast in the sunroom at Giraffe Manor in Langata, Kenya with roaming giraffes around and poking their heads into any open window or doorway and lick guests with their sticky, prehensile tongues.

The five-room property is arranged so that roaming giraffes can visit you anytime and anywhere. They pop up everywhere, at the breakfast table, in the lobby, and through curtains of the five guest rooms.

Regrettably, the U.S. government had issued a travel warning for Kenya. For the latest info, visit the State Department website. 011-254/20-890-948, off-hours: 011-254/20-891-078.

• Security: With Going light on your baggage greatly reduces the need to check baggage or entrust fellow travelers. There is much less risk of losing the baggage due to theft, damage, or mis-routing.
• Economy: You eliminate extra baggage charges if there are any by your airlines. You need not to depend on taxis, limos and private commute but can easily take public transportation. If your baggage has wheels, you can even walk if the place to visit is pretty close-by. You don’t have to pay porters and the like to carry stuff around for you.



• Mobility: This is the biggest advantage. You can arrive at airport right on time without worrying about time spent in carrying the luggage around. You can board trains, buses, coaches with ease. You won’t ever need about your missed connections, at least looking at your heavy luggage. This enable you to deal in a better way with delayed transportation. You will be among the first to leave the airport for your destination, while others wait for baggage delivery and long customs inspection queues. And you won’t feel compelled to take the first hotel room offered: you can comfortably walk down the street should the reception counter person quote an unreasonably high price.
• Time and Self Management: You have more time in hand, because packing takes little. You waste less energy in carrying light luggage. You know what you have, and where everything is. You are not one of those hapless people at the airport, with too much baggage and panicked expressions, worried that they have lost track of something, or left something behind.

This might be my first post to chose from vast niche of Travel because I am traveling to Europe for business soon. What is the single most important thing that business travelers should know before they visit Europe is to know a little about the history and present-day issues of the country you are visiting. This help showing respect to the country, people you are visiting.

As per my knowledge, Europeans are more formal. The use titles is often and they seldom use first names until a long and personal relationship is established. Their body language, posture and presentation are more reserved than Americans. So your appearance should be appropriate.

You will be welcomed into shops and restaurants depending upon how you present yourself. Arriving in sport shoes and a sweat shirt may cause you not to get served – especially in the formal places.

Save yourself from Car theft and purse snatching as those are major problems in most big cities.

Traffic is out of control in many cities. Drivers in Portugal, Spain, Italy or Greece are the worst in the world. High speeds and disregard for road rules make driving hazardous. Take trains or use mass transit, which are generally good, clean and safe.

This is what I could gather at this initial stage, will be ready with next tips as and when I get it.