Travel Hacks: Three things to pack when traveling!

I meant to write this after we got back from Europe in February but I didn’t have a chance so I decided to finally get something written now, right after we got back from Florida. Here are three things we’ve discovered over our last few trips.If you’re driving in a new city or area bring a dash mount for your phone GPS. This is a lifesaver when traveling in an unfamiliar area. Target has them for $5 in their dollar spot so there is pretty much no reason why  you wouldn’t have one when traveling. If you’re walking rather than driving in a new area I would suggest downloading maps of the areas you’ll be walking in.Bring several extra ziplock baggies in multiple sizes. You never know when you’ll need a ziplock so a wise idea is to travel with them at all times! We actually forgot to bring extras when we went to Florida and we ended up  purchasing a box while we were down there. When we were in Europe we used all of the extra ziplocks we brought with. We used them to store dirty clothes/wet clothes when we traveled. We used small snack sized ziplocks to store snacks for our daily outings and we used the quart sized ziplocks to store multiple items. I wouldn’t travel without these ever again!Bring a reusable shopping bag. Unless you’re at an all-inclusive resort this is an item you don’t want to leave at home. When we were in Europe I saw the usefulness of traveling with one of these when we picked a bag up while traveling. I forgot to pack one when we went to Florida and I certainly regretted it!  It is very useful if you need to carry a lot of items around. I would have really loved to have one on hand for when we went grocery shopping or to the beach.  When we were in Europe it was really handy to have a larger bag to hold our lunch or foodstuff during the day.

Travelon Anti-Theft 3 Compartment Crossbody Bag vs Travelon Anti-Theft Two Pocket Crossbody Bag

Before we went on our trip, I was searching all over the internet to try and find reviews on Travelon Anti-Theft 3 Compartment Crossbody Bag and the Travelon Anti-Theft Two Pocket Crossbody Bag. I found several reviews on each of them, however I wasn’t ever able to find a comparison between the two of them. I thought I would post one to help you if you’re looking at purchasing either of these bags.I’m going to skip the specifics of each bag because you can easily find posts on them. I am however, going to focus on the differences between the two bags so you don’t have to end up buying both and returning one like I did. Similarities include locking pouches, slash-proof strap and sides, and an RFID blocking insert to keep your cards and id documents safe. Furthermore, they are both cross body bags to deter a thief from trying to remove it from your person.Here is a comparison shot of the insides of the two bags. As you can see the two pocket bag (the grey) is considerably smaller than the three compartment (black). When I travel I typically take my kindle and several pouches with various items in them. I was also planning to take a mini-three-ring binder with all of our travel documents with in this purse.With the two pocket bag you really only had the main pouch to store things in. There was a small zippered pocket on the back, but the bag does not really expand much to allow you to easily access items in the main pouch when the back one is full. The only other place to store things is the unsecured, small pockets in the front. However, these are fantastic for storing gum, hand lotion and chapstick.The tree pocket bag is considerably larger than the two pocket. It has two locked compartments, one zippered pocket on the back and one zippered pocket on the front. The bag also has pleats in order to allow the bag to expand as you put things in and allow for easy access to everything you might need.I personally took the three compartment bag with me on my trip. I typically carry quite a large purse so the three compartment worked better for what I wanted to carry with me. If you normally have a small bag, or don’t plan to carry much with you, the two pocket may be a better choice.Travelon bags are quite highly regarded in the travel world and I can tell why. They are excellently constructed and they seem to have thought of everything when it comes to keeping your valuables safe. The bags also come in a variety of colors so you can pick whatever matches your wardrobe on vacation! You can order them on Amazon so you can get them quickly if you’re traveling soon.

Air B&B: A Review

 I thought I would give you guys a little review about our experience with Air B&B. Don't worry, there will be more in-depth posts later this month about our entire trip complete with photos!If you’re not familiar with Air B&B it is a way to book rooms or houses when you are traveling. It is an alternative to hotels and hostels. It is almost like couch surfing, but you get your own private room or home and there are typically excellent reviews on the website that help you decide where to stay. Most hosts will also include breakfast in the price of your stay too.We stayed in three different Air B&B’s when we were in Europe.LondonEdinburghAran Island, IrelandWe had an absolutely excellent time at each and every one of these Air B&B’s. If you are looking to stay in one of these places both Alex and I would absolutely recommend any of the hosts we stayed with. They each had excellent suggestions on places to visit around where they lived and they were all more than willing to talk with us.One tip I received before we booked any of these was to check out the reviews on people and only go with people who have a lot of positive reviews. I believe this helped us have an excellent experience with Air B&B since each of our locations was well reviewed.And really, just admire this view from our window on the Aran Islands: