Three Best Travel Secrets from Nancy D. Brown

 

Secret Travel Tips from a Travel Expert

As a travel writer, I’m often asked “what are your best travel tips?” Rather than respond with “read my newspaper or magazine column,” I came up with three travel tips that I don’t think you’ll find anywhere else.

Visit Your Destination on Horseback

Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown recommends you visit your destination on horseback

Get off the beaten path during your travels and hit the dirt – literally. Visit your destination from the back of a horse. Unless you are touring a major city, most places offer horseback riding to the general public. From beginner to advanced rider, there are many types of horseback riding vacations available across the globe.  

Visiting Kauai? Go horseback riding on one of the oldest working cattle ranches in Hawaii at Princeville Ranch.

What better way to learn about California’s Los Padres National Forest than from a local who rides the horseback riding trails on a daily basis?

 Have you considered horseback riding to Iceland’s Blue Lagoon? There are special equitrekking tours offered for the horse lovers amongst us.  I try to fit in a horseback ride on all of my travels.  

Visit The San Francisco Visitors Site "Only in San Francisco" and learn from locals

 

Social Media – a Traveler’s Best Friend?  

We all look online when we are planning a trip. You wouldn’t be reading these secrets if you weren’t web-savvy. Once you have narrowed down your destination, let’s say a visit to San Francisco, do a search to find the San Francisco CVB (Convention & Visitors Bureau.) Once you’ve found them,  look to see if they have a FB page and are on Twitter. Follow them, become a fan. Ask direct questions about where to find lodging discounts or where to go for the best tacos in the Mission District. CVB’s exist to serve you, the traveler – use them and save money while you’re at it.  

By the way, you can follow me on Twitter and for the horse lovers.   

Lost Luggage Tip Secrets  

Have you ever had your luggage lost on an airline flight? I had my luggage lost on a non-stop flight. Rather than stomp my feet and raise my blood pressure, I decided to ask fellow travel writers for their lost luggage tips and share the secrets with you.

My favorite tip comes from Wendy Perrin of Conde Nast Traveler magazine, “take a picture of your luggage from your mobile phone. This way you can show the airline EXACTLY what it looks like.”

What’s your best travel secret?

Related Posts:

Horseback Riding Vacations

Lost Luggage Tips  

Tell a secret image by Sxipa

Posted by Nancy D. Brown

Travel writers share tips for how to find lost luggage

 With a heavy heart, I waited for the baggage claim carousel at O’Hare Airport to circle one last time. Surely my duffel bag would magically appear momentarily. Afterall, this was a non-stop United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Chicago. I had checked my bag in two hours early. How could this be happening to me, and at 1:30 in the morning?

Sadly, I admitted defeat and went over to the steel machine where I was to punch in my luggage identification number and wait for it to spit out the delayed baggage report receipt. Dejectedly clutching my laptop computer, I shuffled off to find the airport shuttle to the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. The nice folks at the front desk hooked me up with some toiletries and I went to bed confident that my bag would be delivered before noon checkout.

As is the case of a lodging editor, I was moving on to review another hotel property the next day. Still no bag. After calling United Airlines 800 number, I was directed to their on-line site (which was down) to check the status of my bag. I checked into the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and was greeted with a friendly and sympathetic staff. A well-stocked toiletry bag was provided to me, but, alas, no duffel bag.

Eventually, I was reunited with my bag, but not before having to purchase a pair of dress pants and no-iron shirt for my BlogHer Travel Panel speaking engagement. I also need to send a shout out to Mary Kay Cosmetics and Public Relations Account Supervisor Jill Kleiner of Coyne. Her agency overnight Federal Expressed their entire make up line to me while I was staying at the Sheraton Hotel. And yes, Cat Lincoln of CleverGirls Collective saved the day when she slipped me some vital Yummie Tummie shapewear undergarments.

Rather than rant and rave, I’d like to offer some lost luggage travel tips from professional travel writers if an airline loses your luggage.

Travel Writers Share Lost Luggage Tips

Jennifer Leo: Los Angeles Times Travel Blog and Editor of Sand in My Bra series

Wendy Perrin: Conde Nast Traveler’s Consumer News Editor and Perrin Post blogger

Sean Keener: Co-Founder of the BootsnAll Travel Network 

Rosalind Cummings-Yeates: Freelance journalist and travel blogger

Kim Mance: Editor of Go Galavanting.com

Donna Hull: Freelance Writer and blogger at My Itchy Travel Feet

Lanora Mueller: Writing Travel blogger

Shannon Hurst Lane: Freelance travel writer