Endless Gibberish

Travel Tips/I’m in California!

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I’m sitting on the plane as I type up this blog post in an attempt to kill more time. I’m flying American Airlines, which provides free headphones but no real entertainment (unless you consider a showing of Lassie entertainment).

Here’s some travel tips which I think might save you guys a bit.

1. Purchase your tickets in advance. Search multiple sites for different deals at different times of the week. I’ve seen various sources say tuesday night and wednesday morning are the best times and it’s best to book at least 21 days in advance of your trip. I booked my flight about a month in advance for January 4th to January 13th from Newark International (EWR) to Los Angeles Internation (LAX). There was a 45 minutes stopover in Dallas, Texas (DFW) and there’s no stopovers on the returning flight. Total cost of flight? $254/ticket including taxes and fees. I could have probably gotten them slightly cheaper but this is the first time I’ve ever bought tickets on my own so consider me a newbie on this one.

2. Eat well before you go on your trip. If your airline bothers to serve you a meal it’s most likely not going to be great. American Airlines doesn’t serve any food, but they sell you bags of M&Ms for $3 and a choice of turkey sandwich or chicken salad for $5. I was insanely hungry so I had to give in and purchase a turkey sandwich on the flight and then later a cheesecake at the dallas stopover. What’s idiotic is the TSA bans you from carrying on beverages due to the “liquid threat” so if you’re thirsty, you’re stuck buying overpriced beverages inside the airport. How’s that conspiracy theory for you?

3. Pack well. You really don’t want arrive at your destination and find out you’ll have to buy things which you already have at home (toothbrushes, haircombs, etc.). It’s okay if you travel with a girlfriend like mine though, which packs EVERYTHING.

4. Research your destination well. Find out what kind of discounts destination places like Disneyland have. You ever go to your local theme park (six flags, dorney park, etc.) and wonder who actually pays full price for admission? Tourists do, don’t be one of those tourists. You can also find great local attractions that’ll be fun yet cost effective.

5. Internet is not free at most airports. If you’re a friend of someone that’s a customer of a service such as tmobile hotspots, ask them for their username and pass. You’ll be able to get internet through their account free. The rate for a day pass of internet access at Newark International is $4.99, clearly not worth it for the 30 minutes I was waiting in the terminal.

6. If you know someone that can give you a ride from the airport, take it! Taxis are extremely expensive. The place I was staying at in L.A. is about 21 miles from the airport. At $2.65 initial fare + $2.50 airport surcharge + at 35 cents per 1/7 mile the fare was roughly $60!