Before You Leave

1. LAST-MINUTE PREPARATIONS 

1. Set the house alarm
2. Lock all doors and windows
3. Turn off the gas
4. Switch off the electricity (unless you have a freezer or an alarm, in which case unplug anything you don't need and switch off all the other switches)
5. Water the plants
6. Take your pets to a boarding kennel or to whoever will be looking after them
7. Check the useful links on this website for the weather conditions in the countries you are about to visit, so that you can pack accordingly

2. HOW TO APPROACH A JOURNEY ABROAD

1. Set off for the airport, the station or the coach departure point in good time. Remember that what for you is the start of a holiday may well be rush hour for thousands of other people
2. Wear comfortable, crease-resistant clothes, as the journey may be a long one. Be prepared for any changes in temperature
3. Wear your most comfortable shoes: feet tend to swell on planes and coaches, so tight shoes will only make things worse
4. If you are flying, remember that hand luggage must not weigh more than 8 kg and that its total dimensions must not exceed 115 cm. You may not carry metal objects of any kind (such as cutlery, scissors, etc.) in your hand luggage, or liquids in containers larger than 100 ml
5. Because of the change in pressure, your ears will probably block during the flight and your hearing will be muffled; swallowing and yawning usually solve the problem, and chewing gum can help. A baby instinctively achieves the same result by crying, so expect it to happen; if you would rather solve the problem more quietly, give your baby a bottle or dummy to suck during the climb after take-off and during the descent before landing
6. Don't overeat on board the plane, and drink plenty of water to counter the effects of dehydration
7. Children can get bored and irritable on long journeys, so it is important to keep them amused and occupied, and not to let them run up and down the aisles of whatever means of transport you are on
8. If you are travelling with children, keep everything you might need close at hand in your hand luggage: their favourite toy, the bottle, colouring books and anything else that will keep them entertained
9. Electronic equipment can interfere with the aircraft's navigation instruments, so do not switch on mobile phones, portable radios, transmitters or the like. Pacemakers do not generally cause problems, but always let the cabin crew know if you are wearing one.

3. ON ARRIVAL 

1. If your luggage does not arrive, speak to your tour leader, who will file the claim form with the airline so that your luggage can be returned to you as soon as possible;
2. Please bear in mind, however, that the return of your luggage is beyond the control of the tour leader, and even more so of our company.

4. CHOOSING A SUITCASE

1. For a long trip, a large, well-made, hard-wearing suitcase is just what you need, together with a suitable bag to carry by hand during the journey.
2. If you are flying, remember that airlines prefer to load hard-shell suitcases in the hold. There is no doubt that hard-shell suitcases are the sturdiest and stand up to the roughest handling! That said, a good-quality soft suitcase will cope just as well with the less-than-gentle treatment luggage receives, and with the sub-zero temperatures of aircraft holds. 
3. If you are travelling by coach, soft suitcases are probably the best choice. A suitcase of that kind can be squeezed into the tightest of spaces, which is something you cannot do with a hard-shell one.
4. As a general rule, bear in mind that buying cheap ends up costing you more. If you buy inexpensive suitcases, don't expect them to last for many trips.

5. HOW TO PACK

1. Do not pack the following in your suitcase:
2. passport, money, credit cards, keys, jewellery, expensive cameras, documents, medicines, glasses or anything else that is valuable, fragile or irreplaceable, or that you might need during the journey. 
3. Once you have finished packing, attach a label to the outside with your full name and the address of your hotel at your destination. Put your home address, or a permanent contact address, on the inside instead: that way you stand a better chance of seeing your suitcase again if it goes missing for a long time. Do not write your home address on the outside, as that would be like inviting a burglar to ransack your temporarily empty home.
4. Pay attention to: 
5. zips: nylon ones are very sturdy and should be sewn in between the fabric and the lining; 
6. fastenings: the best are those recessed into the frame, so they won't spring open if you grab the suitcase awkwardly;
7. wheels: recessed wheels are ideal, and wheeled suitcases should have a handle, a rigid bar or a strap for pulling them along;
8. handles: avoid the kind that cut into your hands and, where possible, choose padded ones. 
9. Don't overfill your suitcases; doing so puts unnecessary strain on the handles and fastenings. 
10. Use a checklist drawn up in advance, so that when it comes to packing you can tick off each item and be sure you haven't forgotten anything. The same list will come in handy every time you leave a hotel, again so that nothing gets left behind. This small precaution will spare you needless stress and inconvenience.
11. Start with the hard, bulky items, such as shoes, shaving kit and toiletries, and put them at the bottom. 
12. Button up suit jackets, lay them flat with the sleeves folded across the middle of the back and separate them with tissue paper. 
13. Trousers should be laid one on top of the other, with the legs folded over inside the suitcase; this saves space and stops them creasing or losing their shape. 
14. Slip the sleeves of your shirts one inside the other, so that they look like a single multi-layered shirt, then fold them in half.
15. Put socks inside your shoes or use them to fill any gaps, so that your clothes don't shift around.
16. Ties should be folded carefully to stop them creasing. 
17. Belts can crack, so roll them up. 
18. If you have a soft suitcase, finish off with a towel, a woollen jumper or something else soft and thick to protect everything else.
19. Close tubes, perfume bottles and other containers of liquids tightly and put them in a waterproof bag.
20. Your hand luggage should contain toiletries, a change of underwear and a shirt or T-shirt, in case your suitcases end up in the wrong city or the wrong place. 
21. When you arrive at the hotel, hang any slightly creased clothes in the bathroom and turn the hot tap of the shower on full. The steam will make the creases disappear.
22. If your trip includes overnight stays on board ships or ferries, remember to take a piece of hand luggage into your cabin with everything you need for the night, as once on board you will have no way of getting to the luggage compartment of the coach you are travelling on, where your suitcase is stored.