How do you protect your eyes from dry airports, hotels, and the elements? Visit your eye doctor for a comprehensive eye exam before you go.

Sun Damage

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, over-exposure to sunlight may increase the risk of developing cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, eye growths, or cancer.  Protect your eyes when traveling.

• Make sure your eyewear blocks 100% UVA and UVB. I use Transitions^® lenses because they automatically adapt from clear lenses indoors to dark lenses outdoors when exposed to UV light. They block 100 percent of UV rays and help to reduce glare
• Be aware that that color and  darkness of the lens are not indicators of the degree of protection
• Wear a broad-brimmed hat
• Remember that on cloudy days the sun’s rays can pass through clouds and still cause damage
• Pay extra attention to your eye protection between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• Wear good sunglasses or Transitions lenses that block 100 percent of UV rays when you are at higher altitudes
• Never look directly at the sun
• Wear eye protection all year and in your everyday life.

Red, Scratchy, Dry Eyes

In airplanes and hotels, the heating and air flow systems drain moisture from the air. When you travel to arid and/or windy areas, such as mountains or deserts you may also have dry eyes. Your tears evaporate quickly in low-humidity environments.

To avoid dry eye irritation:

• Use artificial tears or other over-the-counter remedies. Avoid artificial tears with preservatives because over use can cause blood vessels to constrict.
• When it’s windy, dry or hot, wear your glasses to help protect your eyes from dust, dry air and dirty wind.

Visit www.Transitions.com for more healthy vision tips.

The Gutsy Traveler is Ambassador for Transitions^® lenses, the Official Sponsor of Sightseeing™, www.seemoresights.com

How can you survive the cramped quarters on long flights and avoid “economy class syndrome?” The key is a combination of activity, water and sleep. Here are my travel-tested tips (and those of several flight attendants), to help you arrive feeling and looking good.

• Wear loose-fitting clothing, shoes and socks. Your best bet is comfortable slacks or long skirts so it is easy to cross your legs. Leave your panty or support hose in the suitcase: they can contribute to the formation of blood clots in your legs. Also avoid wearing tight socks or knee-high stockings. If they leave a mark on your leg, then they’re too tight to wear for long periods of immobility.
• To minimize swelling in your ankles and feet and to increase circulation, keep your feet elevated. Stash your carry on luggage under the seat in front of you and rest your feet on top of it, off the floor.
• Avoid drinks or snacks high in sodium such as Bloody or Virgin Mary’s, pretzels or peanuts. Read the labels! If you consume too much salt during a long trip, your feet may swell so much you won’t be able to put your shoes back on. I’ve seen people walk off the plane in socks, carrying their shoes!
• When you enter the plane pick up a pillow and blanket. Place the small airplane pillow in the curve of your lower back to alleviate tension in your lower back.
• Every time I use the flat airline pillows to support my head while sleeping, I develop a sore neck. I’ve discovered that an inflatable pillow keeps the head up and prevents pulled muscles. If you don’t already own an inflatable neck travel pillow, buy one. Most international airports have a good luggage and accessory store. They are inexpensive and readily available.
• Drink lots of water and avoid alcohol and caffeine. Eight ounces of water an hour is the recommended amount. That may sound like a lot, but if you drink 6-8 ounces an hour, you’ll be forced to get up and use the bathroom, thus stretching and moving around. Carry your own water bottle aboard and ask the flight attendant to fill when they serve meals or snacks. If you store it in the seat pocket in front of you, you’ll drink more often and have it available when the lights are out and the flight attendants are nowhere to be found.
• To help you sleep, use an eye shield. Break it in by sleeping with it once at home prior to your trip.
• Pack soft earplugs to mute airplane noises, the wailing of a baby or the rock music seeping from your punk neighbor’s C.D. The pellet-shaped foam earplugs don’t work as well as the soft silicone (or wax) variety that conform to the contours of your ear.
• The cabin temperature during the flight can range from stifling hot to an arctic chill so dress in layers.
• Carry cloth slippers or socks and wear them to keep your toes warm and let your feet breath.

Airplane Stretches

If you’re self conscious about doing these stretches in your seat and worry that passengers around you may stare or think you’re weird, then do them in the bathroom.

Shoulder Shrug: Lift the top of your shoulders toward your ears until you feel mild tension in your shoulders and your neck. Hold your shoulders raised to your ears for five seconds then relax and resume your normal posture. Do this 2-3 times every two hours.

Head roll: Begin with your head in a comfortable, aligned position. Then slowly tilt your head to the left side to stretch the muscles on the side of your neck. Hold this stretch for 10-20 seconds. You should feel a good, even stretch. Don’t over do it! Then tilt your head to the right side and stretch. Repeat this exercise 2-3 times on each side.

Ankle twist: Point your toes and hold the stretch for five seconds, then stretch your feet up and back toward your knees and hold this position for five seconds. Next rotate your foot to the left, hold five seconds, and to the right and hold for five seconds. Repeat several times.

Marybeth Bond, Women Travel Expert, Author/Editor, A Woman’s World, Gutsy Women

All rights reserved. © Marybeth Bond

From the moment we step out the door, we are aware of who's behind us. With good reason. Safety is the number one concern of women travelers.

We can be aware of our surrounding. We can avoid questionable neighborhoods and we can communicate that we’re self-assured by walking confidently with our heads up.

There are other ways we can prepare ourselves and avoid trouble. I learned these safety tips traveling to ninety-plus countries and I hope they’ll be useful to you. Send a link to  friend and share them. One thing is certain, the more prepared you are, the safer you’ll be.

1. Make smart choices and use your common sense. Don’t be paranoid, but be aware that bad things do happen, and protect yourself.
2. Trust your instincts. They are well-honed from living in the USA. If you feel something is off, wrong, strange – get out, move on, flee, scream, whatever is appropriate. Do it quickly.
3. Body language: keep your head up, swing your arms and act confident. Adopt a no nonsense attitude. Walk with purpose and you’ll be less of a target for hustlers who prey on disoriented or timid tourists.
4. Most of the people who offer you food or drink are just being kind. However, the rare exception exists – drugging occasionally happens. Try not to leave your drink unattended in bars, and exercise good judgment when accepting food or drink from people. Rophynol, the date rape drug, is odorless, tasteless and colorless. It is a tranquilizer that can be slipped into your drink by a man who would like to have sex with a woman who is heavily sedated. If you are at a party, don’t accept a glass of punch unless you trust the host. Don’t think this won’t happen to you. Some women don’t even know they have been raped until it’s too late.
5. If you are being followed in the street and you feel threatened, duck into a shop and firmly tell the clerk: “I am a foreigner and someone is following me. I am frightened and need help.” If need be, have the clerk call a cab or police officer for you.
6. Try to sit or stand next to other women or family groups in restaurants, on trains or buses, and in other public places. It is unlikely that you will be approached or harassed if you’re in the company of other people.
7. Consider wearing a wedding ring, if you don’t already.
8. There is power in vocal embarrassment. I have found that many men are shamed by a verbal, loud woman admonishing them in public. Practice screaming before you leave home! Also shame them by shaking your finger in their faces. Even if the crowd doesn’t understand your words, they will understand your indignation and gestures. Most sleazy men do not want public attention.
9. Ask for help or company if you feel uncomfortable.
10. It is common for a would-be thief to use razor blades to cut purse straps, take the purse, and then get away in a thick sea of bodies. Wear a money belt to avoid this happening.
11. It can be difficult to know what is considered offensive or suggestive in segregated societies, such as in Orthodox Muslim areas. At times you may feel uncomfortable or vulnerable. You may not know if the local men view you as a sex symbol representing the immoral Western World. Take your cues from the local women. Watch them. If they don’t make eye-to-eye contact with men, follow their example. Blend in. Dress appropriately.
12. Clothing that is fashionable and appropriate in the USA may project a provocative image in another culture. Leave the revealing clothing at home.
13. Anticipate potential problems. For example: if a group of men or young boys approaches you on the sidewalk on your side of the street, cross to the other side to give them space and you peace of mind.
14. Be sure to know when the sun rises and sets. A bustling market can quickly empty out and be transformed into dark deserted streets. Plan to be back to your lodging or in a safe, busy neighborhood by dark.
15. Carry enough money in your shoe or money pouch to get you out of a tight spot. Be willing to spend this money on a cab in order to get you to a safe place or back to your lodging. Do not take unnecessary risks.
16. If in doubt, take a self defense course.

Flight cancellations can be a travelers' nightmare

Airline Passenger Rights

1. Request rule 240, which in the US stipulates that the airline must deliver you to your destination within 2 hours of your scheduled flight time. If it can’t (and delay isn’t due to weather) it must arrange your ticket on another flight at no additional cost. But you must ask for it–airlines will not usually volunteer this information

2. Airlines will try to re- book you on their own flights, regardless of how inconvenient they may be for you. They want to keep the revenue. Their flights may delay you further or require stop-overs and a change of planes.

3. Know your rights and ask for the next direct flight on any airline.

4. Rebook yourself. If the line is too long, step out and use your cell or payphone to call the airline for an alternate connection. Even if that departure is on another airline than the one you have the ticket for, the airline will often honor your ticket if the plane has an empty seat.

5. Be extra nice to airline reps. They have offered me upgrades on future flights and food coupons worth $40 for my inconvenience.

6. Figure out where you’re going to spend the night. Don’t call a hotel’s 800 number–call the hotel manager directly. The manager on duty can offer last-minute rooms with rates as much as 35 percent less expensive.

7. Make sure the airline gets your luggage off the plane and rerouted to your next flight.

When You Reserve Your Room

• Ask if they have security personnel 24/7.
• Reserve a room located between the second and seventh floors – within reach of a fire department ladder.
• Request a room that is not near vending machines (noise and loitering), and far from elevators and stairwells.
• Ask if all rooms have sprinklers, for fire safety.

Packing for Safety

• Don’t assume that your room will have a dead bolt or privacy latch or chain for the main door and all doors to accompanying rooms. So buy a small rubber door-stopper at the local hardware store and pack it for all your trips.

Upon Leaving the Airport, Train Station or Your Car

• Be alert for suspicious persons and behavior.
• After dark or in sketchy neighborhoods, do not park far from the main entrance and walk. Drive directly to the front door, unload the car and if the hotel parking is far, or it’s dark, ask for a hotel employee to accompany you to the parking lot.
• Wait until you get to your hotel room to put on your lipstick or make a phone call. Do not stay in your parked car in the garage, parking lot or any public space around the hotel. You are making yourself vulnerable to thieves and kidnappers.

Upon Arrival

• Do not wander in the parking lot, garage or public space around the hotel; kidnappers and thieves operate in these areas.

Check In

• Ask a woman, if possible, at the front desk or concierge desk, about the safety of the neighborhood and for safe areas around the city in which to jog, dine or sight see. Ask about local customs and which taxis or other public transportation to use or avoid. Ask about the local 911-type emergency number and how to use the local telephone system.
• If the hotel gives you a parking permit to display in the window, ensure it does not show your name/room number.
• Never give out more information than people need to know.
• If the receptionist announces your room number or name, ask for another room. Anyone loitering in the lobby area could hear your name and room number.

• Make a habit of leaning your bags against your leg during registration at a hotel or at the airline ticket counter; you will feel it if someone moves your bag. Always place your purse and briefcase on the counter in front of you.
• Off hours, do not be hesitant to ask a hotel employee to show you to your room.
• Do not assume your guestroom will be perfect upon checking in. Windows, connecting doors, etc. may not be locked.
• When you arrive at your room, prop the door open with your luggage , turn on the lights, inspect the door lock, locks on sliding glass doors and windows, door latch and/or chain, room safe, lock on interconnecting doors and ensure the telephone works.

During Your Stay

• Keep the door closed and engage the dead bolt and privacy latch or chain at all times when you are in the room. Use a doorstop  (See tip above. Bring one with you).
• Keep valuables, cash, jewelry, tickets, passports and other documents in the hotel or room safe.
• If your hotel room does not have a safe, keep those items with you or lock them in your suitcase.
• When you go to bed, do not leave your valuables in view. Store your watch, wallet, jewelry, purse, camera, ipod, laptops in a drawer in the nightstand, or in your suitcase. What would happen if there was a fire drill during the night and you left your room quickly, and half-asleep, and someone enters your room before you return.
• Do not open your hotel room door to anyone unless you are expecting someone and you know them. Question the authenticity of a hotel service employee by calling the front desk to verify the reason and person, before allowing entry.
• Do not disclose your gender or the fact that you are the only occupant.
• On the Room Service Breakfast Menu, that you hang overnight on your hotel room doorknob, never disclose that you are a single guest in the room or disclose your last name. Initials are sufficient.
• Although hotel personnel are well trained in safety issues, it is possible that a hurried desk clerk could offer an alleged family member an extra key to your hotel room if they are given the correct name and room number. This information can be obtained on your breakfast menu card or upon check-in.  

• When occupy or leave the room, place a “do not disturb” sign on your outside door, giving the impression that the room is occupied – whether it is or not.
• When returning at night, use only the main entrance.
• When returning to your room, be aware of what’s going on around you. Do not unlock the door if a stranger is standing nearby; keep walking past your door and return only when clear. Do not enter if the door is not locked or ajar. Ask for assistance from someone at the front desk

In the Lobby

• Be aware of your surroundings and alert for people look out of place or who stare at or follow you.
• Do not discuss personal matters, your reason for being in town, your itinerary, your marital status with friends in the lobby or strangers and pay attention to anyone around you who may overhear you.

Copyright © Marybeth Bond

Switzerland

I’ll admit that packing for Europe takes effort to select fashionable and functional clothes that are also comfortable. So my packing list for different countries and activities varies.

If you’re going to Paris, you’ll select stylish clothing in your closet, if you’re going to Switzerland, as I am in a few weeks, you’ll want stylish clothes for sophisticated Zurich and Geneva and functional outdoorsy clothes for the Alps and hiking.

Here’s what I”m packing for the cities:

• Stylish jeans, which Europeans wear everywhere.
• I want to blend in, so I’ll select black as my basic color and dress it up with a blazer, a thin sweater, and accessories.
• To add style but not bulk, I’ll pack numerous scarves, including a camel-colored Pashmina that is warm and goes with everything.
• Fun costume jewelery. European women wear scarves and jewelery regardless of the season.
• A pair of  decent- looking walking shoes and a pair of black flats for evening.
• Dressing in layers is a “must” in Switzerland where the weather can change throughout the day, and evenings can be quite cool. I’ll need a fleece jacket for the mountains and will  take along a nice black jacket or raincoat, and add warmth with a scarf.

Packing for hikes in the Alps:

Camera with extra batteries, water bottle, sunglasses, sunscreen, hat, well broken-in hiking boots, extra socks, t-shirt, rain jacket, fleece jacket.  A small first aid kit with New Skin, extra mole skin, and first aid cream.

One piece of hiking gear that I used were gaiters. They are  sleeves that slip over your boots and ankles to keep you mud free and dry on the trail.  I’m packing mine for trails and snow fields in the Alps.

Basic city packing list for a short trip

• One pair of black slacks in addition to the pair you wear.
• Four blouses, including one silk blouse for evening wear.
• A light, colorful cardigan sweater .
• Colorful scarves.
• One pashmina shawl.
• Costume jewelry.
• One jacket (wear on the plane).
• Dress shoes, one pair of flats.
• Walking shoes with rubber soles.
• Socks, underwear.
• Lots of Zip Lock bags.
• Tiny umbrella.
• Eyeshades and ear plugs. Earplugs are a must if you’re not accustomed to sirens.
• Duct tape and clothespins or big safety pin to close the hotel room curtain.

Bon voyage!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx63JhlmTeQ

Place the “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door to discourage anyone from entering your room while you are away.

When staying in hotels, always check the window and door locks.

Bolt the door to your hotel room and don’t open it for anyone without first checking with the front desk.

Make sure the sliding door to your hotel room is locked.

Use your baggage to hold the door to your hotel room while you check the closets. Even better, ask someone from the front desk to accompany you to your room while you check it out.

If the desk clerk mentions your room number out loud and there are other guests around to overhear, request that you be given a different room and that the clerk not mention the number.

Keep the curtains in your room closed.

If it’s very late and you’re alone, go to the front desk and ask security to walk you to your room.

For peace of mind when traveling alone, choose national hotel chains with interior room entrances. More and more women are also choosing small inns and B&Bs where the proprietors will know where they’ve been for dinner and when to become alarmed if they don’t return by a specific time.

When arriving at night, rental car agencies and hotels can arrange for someone to accompany you to and from parking lots.

When alone (particularly at night), walk with the crowd and act as if you’re part of the pack.

Carry your passport, plane ticket, traveler’s checks and cash in a concealed money belt worn around the waist.

Look and act confident. Get directions ahead of time and know your destination. If you are unsure of your location, act like you know where you are headed and get directions at a safe-looking gas station, cafe, etc.

Be aware of your surroundings (people, cars, doorways, stairwells, etc.) and have a plan in case you get into a dangerous situation.

On all flights, count the seats and rows to the nearest emergency exit. If there ever is a need to make an emergency exit, you will know exactly how far you need to crawl (if necessary) to reach the exit.

Travel with a small, high-powered flashlight in your briefcase when you’re out, and on your bedside table at night for emergencies.

Use laminated business cards as luggage tags. Anyone checking the address will not know your home address and telephone number.

Leave your good jewelry at home. Don’t draw attention!

Be proactive, not reactive.

Never volunteer the fact that you are traveling alone. Lie if necessary.

Plan your trip before traveling in a rental car. Do not reveal a map in your car with a marked route on it.

To ward off unwanted male attention, especially in male-dominated foreign countries, carry fake engagement and wedding rings to be used as necessary; make hotel reservations as if married.

Do not use room service breakfast door hangers because they ask for number of guest(s). You don’t want anyone to know you are alone.

If you’re going on an adventure or overseas trip, begin several weeks in advance.

Plan, plan, plan. Make lists of what you will wear each day and what tops go with different skirts or slacks.

• Pick a color theme. Black, navy or khaki are the best neutral basic colors. Black and Navy don’t show dirt or spots as readily as khaki.
• Mix and match outfits. Plan to wear the same slacks and tops several times. You can change your look with scarves, shawls and jewelry.
• Roll your slacks, shirts and blouses as tightly as possible. They will occupy less space and you’ll have fewer wrinkles.
• Start organizing a set of toiletries and cosmetics that’s dedicated for traveling. Buy a good travel cosmetic bag, with clear windows, pack it and store when you’re not on the road. When you’re at the grocery or drug store, buy the small travel-size shampoos, conditioners and hair sprays so your cosmetic bag will weigh less and occupy little room. You can buy small plastic bottles and pour your cosmetics into them.
• Take only costume jewelry or silver – never gold or diamonds. Avoid looking like a wealthy target for thieves.

My personal packing list for a short trip

• One pair of black slacks.
• Four blouses, including one silk blouse for evening wear.
• A light, colorful cardigan sweater.
• Colorful scarves.
• One Pashmina shawl.
• Costume jewelry.
• One jacket that I wear on the plane.
• Dress shoes, one pair of flats.
• Walking shoes, that can double as exercise shoes.
• Socks, underwear, yoga pants for exercising.
• T-shirt doubles as a pajama.
• Lots of Zip Lock bags.

Weight Busters

• Hair dryers, irons. Most hotels make these available to all guests.
• Laptop if you can get by with your cell phone, iPhone or Blackberry.