Travel Essentials, Must Haves and Tips!

In my quest to share tips and information with you related to traveling in general, I wanted to give you some tips for travel essentials, must haves, and my personal to-dos. So in no particular order, here are a few ways you can make travel easier, more fun and less stressful!

 * Travel with a mini "get well" kit.

It doesn't have to be large or involved, but think about traveling with a mini get well / first aid kit. I use a small pouch that I got free with a makeup purchase, and include a few bandaids, some antibacterial cream, ibuprofen, aspirin, etc. If you're battling a headache at the airport, or fall and scrape your knee while getting gas, it's nice to have those items at the ready.

(You should also have a larger first aid kit in your car - you can make your own, or many stores like Target and Wal-Mart carry per-assembled ones as well.)

* Speaking of the airport...bring along baby wipes.

Even if you don't have kids with you, you need baby wipes! Stop by the baby care section at your local store and pick up some wipes before you fly. Those airplanes are germ-central, so when you get on the plane take a minute to wipe down your seat, the seatbelt, tray table, etc. No one likes to get sick on vacation (or when you get home!) so a few moments spent cleaning your part of the plane can save your immune system!

* If you're traveling with kids - bring along a few inexpensive new toys to keep them occupied on long travel days.

One of my travel clients did this with her kids, and I think it's a GREAT idea. You don't have to spend a lot (even dollar store items are a hit) but if you pick up a few new items that they've not seen before, the new-ness of the toys can really keep them occupied during long flights or car trips. Consider picking up small toys, decks of cards, new coloring books and crayons, etc.

For a special treat, you could also rent or purchase a movie they've been wanting to see and give the option of viewing that if they have good behavior!

* Chargers - don't leave home without them. And don't pack them in your checked bag!

Most of us travel with at least our cell phones, as well as laptops, iPads, Kindles, etc. Be sure you don't pack the chargers in your checked bag(s), as you'll probably need to recharge before you get to your destination. Most airports now offer at least a few seats at each gate with charging stations nearby; at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport, for example, many gates now offer comfortable seating areas with multiple charging stations, so 100 people aren't jockeying for 3 charging spots.

Logo copyrighted RelayRides.com

 * Look into other options for transportation.

Remember, there are other ways to access transportation when you're on vacation, and that doesn't always mean you need to rent a car or take a cab. Check out other options, like RelayRides. RelayRides is a peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace where individuals offer their personal cars up for rent. They carefully vet both the renters and those who are making their cars available, and offer customer support, roadside assistance and liability insurance coverage as well. To learn more, be sure and go to their webite relayrides.com. To access their airport rentals information, please click here!

This is just a short list of some of my tips for traveling...I hope to make this a regular feature on the  blog and would LOVE to hear some of your ideas, too!

I'd like you to share your tips in the comments and on Facebook and Twitter; be sure to use the hashtag #mostdelightfultips so I can see those and share with others!

Have a magical day!