Travel tips help avoid vacationing headaches

Alissa Shields learned the hard way what to pack for spring break.

Two years ago, when she went to Aruba, her luggage went to Venezuela. Buried among the T-shirts and shorts in her suitcase was her gold jewelry, including her class ring.

"I was going out of my mind," said Shields (senior-film).

After three days, Shields got her luggage back with all her possessions intact.

"I was very lucky . . . it was the stupidest thing to do," she said.

Next time Shields will not be counting on her luck.

Anything important and valuable is staying by her side during the plane trip in a carry-on bag, she said.

"I would take my jewelry, anything cosmetic -- make-up, shampoo, lipstick. Definitely an outfit or two because you never know what's going to happen," she said.

Area travel agents said they have heard theirfair share of horror stories about lost luggage. And each year, they urge students not to throw valuables in a suitcase that could be lost or stolen during the plane ride.

Shields said shelearned another valuable tip on her trip -- be sure to pack light.

"I would have packed half of the things," Shields said. "You go to different places every night. No one is going to know you're wearing the same outfit."

Another mistake, Shield said, was bringing dressier shorts and shirts that needed to be pressed.

Next time she would bring cotton dresses and clothes that don't wrinkle as easily, she said.

But over-packing is a problem many travelers run into on vacation -- not just students, said Rodelle Weintraub, owner of Accent on Travel, 444 E. College Ave.

"You always take too much," Weintraub said. "You should pack your suitcase and then take out half. Take things you can wash in the sink and will be dry the next morning."

Weintraub also advised students going to locations such as Cancun, Mexico, to take three swim suits and pack casual clothes -- no dresses and high heels.

Another tip is to pack suntan lotion and film because these items often cost much more in resort areas, said Amy Smith, a travel agent with Centre for Travel, 114 S. Heister St.

When Kevin Koenig (senior-meteorology) went to Daytona last year, he found out that suntan lotion in Florida does not come cheap."They want you to buy a different level each day," he said.

"Everyone got burnt the first day and spent the rest of the week trying to keep the pain down."

In light of emergencies like suntan lotion, travel agents advise students to be prepared to spend more money than they anticipated.

"I would plan on $50 to $100 a day . . . You have to buy food. You need money for phone calls, for souvenirs . . . If you come home with money left over, that's fine. You just don't want to run short while you're away from home," Weintraub said.

Some students have come up with creative ways to save money while on vacation.

To keep the grocery bill from consuming too much of his money, Vaughn Whisker (senior-nuclear engineering) said he brought peanut butter and jelly when he went to Daytona.

"You've got to save your money," he said. "There are better things to spend it on."