Looking for some help staying organized while traveling?  Try the new Eagle Creek Pack It System.  These products fit in almost any suitcase, and provide wrinkle-free organization.  Shop the entire selection of Eagle Creek travel products at Luggage Pros!

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However, I will be hopping a couple of planes to get to my much-anticipated vacation.  So, I’ll pack my American Tourister Luggage and fly to Atlanta’s airport for a layover and then on to Nassau.  That’s over 2,300 travel miles, not including the shuttle I’ll be taking to and from the airport.  Since this isn’t the greenest way to travel, I wanted to do something that would offset the emissions I will be contributing to.

The company Tera Pass provides a website where you can look up different travel situations and it will calculate your carbon emissions.  You can then buy “offsets.”  Your purchase is verified to reduce the same amount of emissions that your trip will output.  This money goes to fund carbon reduction projects.  There are 3 types of projects that Tera Pass funds: farm power, landfill gas capture and wind energy.

Let’s calculate my trip via plane:  (I’m not sure of the make/model of my shuttle, so I’ll have to calculate those emission when I return)

• Minneapolis airport to Atlanta airport: 906 miles = 353 lbs carbon emissions

• Atlanta airport to Nassau: 730 miles = 328 lbs carbon emissions

• Return flight miles: 1,636 miles = 681 carbon emissions

Total emissions for my flight are 1,362 lbs and 3,272 miles.  To purchase a standard 2,000 lb emission offset = only $11.90!  I am taking my husband with me on this trip, so to pay for both of our offsets would still only be $24.

Tera Pass also allows you to calculate your emissions for your commute every day to work, as well as your wedding carbon footprint!  So, the next time you’re taking a trip or just driving to work, know you’ve got the option to offset those carbon emissions.

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The Titan X2 4-Wheel Flash has a four wheel system that makes travel a joy, while the daring, high gloss colors allow freedom of expression for travelers of all ages.  The bold design and sophisticated carbon finish make the Titan X2 4-wheel Special Edition Carbon a perfect choice for business or leisure travel.   Wheels rotate 360 degrees, making navigation of crowded airports and small aisles an easy task.  Titan offers German-manufactured polycarbonate luggage engineered for lightness, strength and durability.

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Here is the point that I am trying to make.  Alcohol on flights doesn’t cause problems, its people that drink in access and become roudy and obnoxious that do.  I have been on my share of domestic, charter, and international flights and haven’t seen the serving of alcohol cause any problems.  Now consider the fact that I have been on several spring break flights – flights where you would expect wild college kids to go crazy and overboard with the alcohol…but they didn’t. I am not a huge drinker, and generally don’t drink on shorter domestic flights.  However, when flying longer international flights, I like knocking back a few strong cocktails because it helps me fall asleep, and sleep through the flight.  Now I don’t know about you, but when I sleep, I don’t get annoying, violent, or belligerent.

Mr. Elliot writes that alcohol hightens stressful situations, and that on a plane its harder to ignore or get away from a beligerent drunk.  He also mentions that alcohol at higher altitudes is much more toxic/intoxicating than at ground level.  This is true, however a simple reminder of this for people will likely solve that problem.  Most average people aren’t on the plane to get wasted, especially since getting drunk on a plane is generally a very uncomfortable situation.  I would be ok with limiting the number of drinks that each person can have, although then you run into the problem of weight and tollerance.  I think that flight attendants should act like bar tenders – they should cut people off before they push themselves over the top.

One more thing – even we did stop the serving of alcohol on flights, it wouldn’t solve any of the issues, because the people that do want to be drunk on a plane still will be.  Their are airport bars which serve alcohol, and don’t forget about the duty free shops which sell alcohol for cheap.  Also don’t forget, airlines are struggling as it is, taking away alcohol, one of their revenue sources, is probably not going to help the situation.

I am very interested to get our readers take on this one.  Please reply with your comments.

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"To tip or not to tip"

To tip or not to tip, that is the question.  Or better yet, how much to tip.  Whether you are travel frequently or seldom, for business or for pleasure, or any combination of the above, you have probably had this dilemma.  This becomes a problem especially when traveling internationally.  In the U.S. we are pretty much used to the commonplace 10% – 15% minimum gratuity, however in other countries this can vary up or down.  And what about those dreaded doormen, porters and maids?  In this post I will give you some pointers that  I have gathered from my travels.

• When arriving to a new destination, make a quick detour to the airport info kiosk and ask about tipping practices/customs in the area.  Otherwise make a quick stop at the hotel concierge and ask the same question (don’t forget to tip him/her as well)
• Have a separate stash of “gratuity money” available in small local denominations.  This way you don’t have to worry about getting change back (some waiters tend to “forget” to bring it back), or about not having enough money for a tip.
• Whenever tipping, its best to err on the side of generosity – think about it, these people are preparing your food, cleaning your room, and ferrying you around from place to place…all things you want done well, and generally you get what you pay for.
• Most countries outside of the U.S. include a service charge in your bill, but its still a good idea to give at least 5% over the top.
• In most Asian countries, Japan and China in particular, gratuities are not common place.  In bigger cities its a good policy to leave 5% – 10% more, but otherwise they generally include a service charge and don’t expect to get anything on top of that.
• If you are ever traveling in a country with a corrupt government/social system, try to avoid paying bribe “gratuities” if you can.  If you are forced to bribe your way out of a bad situation do so, but otherwise just walk/drive away.

These are just some general guidelines for you, but as mentioned above its a good idea to ask the locals when you arrive, because every place is a bit different.  Check back next week, for a more detailed region-by-region synopsis of tipping policies.

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Also, if you trust Rick’s travel advice, then checkout his line of travel gear.

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1. Know The Rules – Double check the carry-on guidelines with your airline.  The size and weight guidelines tend to vary a bit from airline to airline, so be sure to get specifics.  For example, your 35lb. suitcase might fine with one carrier, but will have to be checked with another.  Carriers also have varying linear size limits.  Check out our Travel Center for more tips, guidelines, etc.
2. Know Your Size – Are you planning on domestic travel, international travel, or both?  This is very important, since domestic regulations limit the carry-on bag size to a 22″ bag, whereas the international limit is 20″.  If you plan on using the same suitcase for all your travels, I suggest getting a 20″.  I personally travel with a Crew 7 20″ Rollaboard .
3. Beware of the Liquid Restrictions – In case you didn’t know yet, the TSA has restrictions on liquids.  All liquids must be in 3oz. containers which all need to fit into one clear ziplock bag. You can technically go out and buy mini bottles of shampoo, shaving cream, lotion, toothpaste, etc.  However, my preferred solution is purchasing a TSA approved bottle kit.   This allows you to not only bring your favorite shampoo, lotion, etc with you, but it also will save you money because the mini bottles are grossly marked up.  The Eagle Creek Pack-It Custom Travel Bottle Set is my favorite because it contains squeeze bottles, a pump bottle, a spray bottle and a toothbrush holder all conveniently packed into a custom reusable zipper bag.
4. How to fit everything you need into one bag – when going on longer trips, it becomes harder to fit everything you need into your carry-on, especially if you are traveling to colder climates and packing bulky clothes.  My favorite solution is compression bags.  If you have a few extra large heavy duty ziplock bags handy, you can pack them full, and press the air out of them.   However the ziplocks are prone to tears and they do slowly refill with air, so you need to pack fast.  My suggestion is to spring $20 or so, and buy a set of compression bags (Eagle Creek Pack-It Compressor Set).
5. Check Your Lock – If you are going to lock your luggage, be sure that you are using TSA approved locks.  This can benefit you in several ways.  First, if you bag needs to be searched, you don’t need to fiddle around for the key, every TSA agent has a master key.  Second, if you make the bonehead mistake of forgetting or losing your key, you will be able to have a TSA security agent open it for you – save yourself a trip to the hardware store and $25 on bolt cutters (personal experience).

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Yes, this story does have a relatively happy ending though.  The song has become a viral hit, with close to 1.5 million views in the past 4 days; Taylor guitars has offered to fully repair Dave’s guitar, which he says still doesn’t sound the same, and they promised him a discount on his next purchase, and even United Airlines seems to finally want to address this issue, after a whole year of ignoring it.  The moral of the story is, if the airlines lose and/or break something of yours, just put up a video on YouTube.

Enjoy the video…

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