Contact your hotel Concierge ahead of time

Always contact the Concierge/front desk at your hotel ahead of time for reservation suggestions or hotel transportation from the airport.

Contact your hotel for special requests

It is a good idea to contact your hotel directly for special requests such as connecting rooms, early check-in or high floor before leaving to have a better shot a getting them when you arrive.

Take some extra batteries with you

Ensure that you have extra batteries when you travel. These can be costly and if your device uses a battery that is not popular you may not be able to find one. Alkalines are good as they last longer.

Buy rail tickets before you go to Europe

If you live outside of Europe and are traveling there. You can buy rail passes online or from a travel agent. It is much cheaper than doing so once you arrive in Europe. Try sites such as www.raileurope.com.

On descent, blow through your mouth

When you are on an airplane and you are descending to land. Sometimes your ears start to hurt or clog up. If you close your mouth, hold your nose and blow, it will make your ears pop and ease the discomfort. You may also chew gum or swallow a few times. If you have a baby, feed the baby using the baby's bottle.

Always take an umbrella with you

Every good traveler should take an umbrella on every trip. Purchase one that fits neatly in your carry-on bag and never remove it from that bag when you return home. Unless you've used it and now need to air/dry it out. You never know when you may need one.

Take night trains

Consider taking overnight trains as they oftentimes offer sleeper cars and you can save on a hotel room cost this way.