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Airport Travel Tips

You may have seen these airport travel tips but they are worth repeating as we get ready for our winter dive travel to tropical destinations.

• Getting through security checkpoints is always a major hassle. A little preparation can save you time and aggravation. Be mindful of the carry-on restrictions. Before your trip, stock up on small travel-size toiletries that are allowed for carry-on. This may also reduce your bag weight.
• If you are travelling internationally, weigh your bags before you leave home and again, be mindful of weight limits as they differ from airline to airline. You may also have to weigh your carry-on bags so remember the check specific airline restrictions and weigh your carry-on before you leave for the airport.
• There are a number of smartphone apps available to help navigate airport terminals. Gate Guru (www.gateguru.com) is a favorite as well as Seat Guru (www.seatguru.com) for getting that seat with a bit more leg room. If travelling through the US, TSA information is also available (http://apps.tsa.dhs.gov/mytsa/).
• A common trick to save a couple of bucks….carry an empty water bottle. Many airports now have water bottle fill stations near drinking fountains. You can avoid the high price of bottled water at post-security shops and restaurants.
• Many people are right-handed and tend to choose checkpoint and immigration lines to the right. You may find lines to the left shorter with less of a wait. Of course, signing up for the TSA Pre-check program can also save you time and hassles in security line.
• We have changed our dive gear bags from soft-side bags with rollers to lighter canvas sport duffel bags and we have saved close to 10 pounds in bag weight. We do need to get luggage carts now but we rarely worry about dive gear weight, and when we  are on a liveaboard with limited storage space, these soft duffel bags compress to save cabin space.
• Take a photo of your boarding pass with your smartphone. Then you won't have to worry about opening your email program to find the boarding pass. We also take photos of our travel documents, passports, C-cards, and other personal records that might get misplaced. Check out our smartphone app as it has a section just for this purpose (Liquid Diving Adventures on the Apple app store or Google Play).
• That camera in your smartphone can be used to take pics of your luggage, your parking lot location and other common travel events that you may forget after a week of scuba diving. Use that phone for more than just selfies…!
• We have started to purchase a bottle of wine or other alcohol at duty free. We don't save much on the cost of the bottle but it can really save on the resort bar tab. You might consider some of the mini-bottles of alcoholic beverages to mix with a free soft drink on the plane. Just remember to pack them in a plastic baggie to get through the security checkpoints. And remember to use caution when bringing alcohol into to some Middle Eastern countries for travel to the Red Sea.
• If you are not a frequent flyer member and don't have access to Premier Lounges, you may find some clubs will allow for day purchases. It may be worth the extra cost (say 420 to $50) to get out of the crowd if you have a long layover.