Few things are as stressful as traveling. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, the idea of packing everything you need into a small suitcase and leaving home for an extended amount of time can be overwhelming. Follow the advice in this article to help you turn your travels into an enjoyable experience.

In order to make the most of travel abroad, try to plan at least a couple of activities that aren’t listed in tourist guide books or blogs. You can do this by getting hold of information designed for and produced by locals, be it from newspapers, blogs or people on twitter. Stepping outside the tourist bubble will make your trip that much more exciting and fun.

Pack clothespins on your upcoming trip. A couple of clothespins can be very handy when traveling.

You already know you can’t take drinks with you through security at the airport. But you can definitely take a water bottle as long as it’s empty. Save yourself the two dollars on water you’re going to buy immediately after you get through security – just bring an empty water bottle from home and fill up with icy-fresh fountain water once you’re through.

If you are interested in international travel but you can’t afford it, consider volunteering to work at with an international charity. Many charities will allow you to live for free at an overseas location, in exchange for your work at one of their facilities, such as a hospital, school or nursery.

Make sure you double or even triple check all of your reservations before you leave for your trip. Just call the hotels you are staying at or make sure none the events you were planning on going to got cancelled. You don’t want to be left stranded with no where to stay or disappointed that your favorite band isn’t going to play in the city you are going to visit just to see them live. There’s nothing wrong with checking your plans for your trip.

Before leaving your house to travel, the last thing you should do before you go anywhere is to use the bathroom. This will leave you feeling refreshed and ready to go away on a trip. Most importantly, going to the bathroom before leaving, will mean that you won’t have to go for a while, which will prevent an uncomfortable situation where you can’t find a bathroom.

Bring some extra zip top plastic bags in your luggage. They are useful for keeping wet or muddy items away from the rest of your luggage, for storage of toiletries that could spring a leak, or for sitting on a dirty park bench. They take up almost no room and can save you from discomfort later.

Whether you are taking a family vacation or a solo trip, traveling away from home can be a stressful event. There is always so much that needs to be taken care of before you leave, and if you are like most people, there is always something that you need that gets left behind. By applying the advice in this article to your future journeys, you can turn stressful trips into enjoyable memories.