Travel Documents and How to Organise Them

I was recently at the hairdressers, and she was saying that she was going on her first overseas holiday. We were chatting about how to organise things like your passport and travel documents and I thought I would share with you what has worked for me over the years.

Passports

I photocopy the information page of each of our passports (the one that has your picture on it.) I copy all of ours onto one page and then I take a copy that goes in with my husband's things, one with our travel folio, one that stays at home with someone back home, and I scan and e-mail a copy of it to my travel e-mail address. If we lose our passports or they are stolen or damaged, this will be a step closer to getting replacements from the Australian Embassy.

I put Dymo labels on the back cover of each passport with the first and last name of whose passport it is. This makes it a lot quicker to sort out than having to flip open to the info page.

I have a travel folder that I put my husband and my passport inside the left side and the kids ones inside the right. Again this just helps me to fast track if I have to get a specific passport out quickly.

In the passport folder, I have a pen there at all times. I use one type of pen for all my travel writing. This means that if I partially fill out a form and have to go back to it, it will still be the same pen and not raise questions as to why it was done with two different pens. (I use kilometrico...don't know why just always do.)I go to the airport before my trip to get the outgoing passenger cards and fill them all out so we don't have to do it at the airport. You will have so many other things on your mind, so do this at home where you can think clearly and not add to the airport stress.

Have a set place to store the passport folder in your cabin baggage or handbag. The night before the trip, I always show my husband that I have each of our passports in the folder in the set place ( I physically pull each one out so we both can see) and have our flight e-tickets and outgoing passenger cards completed. This will mean we both won't stress and second guessing whether we have them in there as we get ready the next day.

Travel documents

I have a folio that I store all my travel documents in. I label each tab according to the places I am going. I usually have a tab for all my flight documents, one for the car hire documents and one for other general travel info. Every piece of paper that is in the folio has been e-mailed to my travel e-mail address. Again, I keep a pen in here and some blu-tac. Why blu-tac you ask?? Well, I break my itinerary down into sections and photocopy it. SO for example, if we are spending 4 days at one place, I have that section photocopied onto paper and I blu-tac it up usually onto a mirror or mirrored cupboard door so we can see at a glance what we are doing each day. The kids like this as it saves me getting frustrated when I have been asked 20 times what we are doing tomorrow. I don't put things like confirmation numbers etc on there as housekeeping will be in and out of the room...it is just a basic breakdown of what we are doing to allow my family to know roughly what is going on so they can be excited.
Before we go away, I sit down with my husband and go through every step of the trip to make sure I have all the documents we will need. He asks questions that often lead to me checking or adding things in. Me saying it all out loud also has me realising where I might need to add things or to be reassured I am well prepared so I will have less "holiday dreams" worrying about getting on holidays and having nothing organised so we waste the trip. ( Be ready for these!)

Note pad

As mentioned above, I have travel dreams, even after all the trips I have done and all the organisation I have put into place. What I find lessens them, is when they start, I put a note pad by my bed so that if at One a.m. I wake with the thought of something I need to do, I can write it down in messy 'pitch black 'writing and mentally forget it and go back to sleep. The more organised my trip is the fewer dreams I have.

Travel E-mail

I set up a travel e-mail that I organise before every trip. I make up folders that are labelled itinerary,car hire, hotels, flights, tours, documentation etc. Every piece of documentation I have for the trip is e-mailed here and organised into a folder. This means that if I lose my folder or papers I can get to a wifi area and print new documents off. This gives me the reassurance that I have a back up. In my documentation, I e-mail my passport information, travel insurance information and credit card emergency contact details.

Phone Contacts

I have within my phone contacts, my medicare card number, and my credit card emergency number to ring both within Australia and Internationally (because even though the number is on the back of my credit card...if I lose the card I won't have the number!) You could add other pertinent information that you might need.

Travel Book/ Journal

Within my travel book and Journal I have all our Passport numbers/expiry dates and issue dates recorded. This is specifically for when I am in the plane and I have to fill in the incoming passenger forms for overseas customs and Australia. It gives me all the details in one place. They are always handed out near the end of the flight when you are jet-lagged and have your eyes hanging out your head so you need to think clearly and NOT make mistakes that mean you fill in the form 3 times!

The Travel Concierge Tip
When the flight attendants are handing out the forms, say you need two forms. This allows you to fill in the second form correctly straight after you make a mistake rather than having to call them back after they have taken a lot of time directing everyone else on the plane how to fill them in. READ the whole form first to check whether your answer comes before or after the question. If you are amazing like me and don't make a mistake (only because I used to make them EVERY time and so now are used to them) you can then pre-fill it in for your next trip.

Itinerary in progress

My itineraries have changed dramatically over the years. It has evolved as I guess I have through my experiences travelling. Right now, I have my itinerary set up in columns. All the things I need to do are noted in red. As I do them, I delete the message and fill in the itinerary with a booking number or details. It becomes quite a thick document, but again, I know that I haven't missed anything.

Date	This column is where I put all important things I need to know each day	This column starts out labelled Follow Up and then as the itinerary rounds out I change it to Notes.
Date	Itinerary	Notes
4th August	HA452 Departing 9:20pm Arr HNL 10:15am Limo booked for arrival time with lei greeting Ruth Chris Steakhouse dinner	Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. 2335 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu Booking No: 8219762 Meet Limo driver in the middle section of the airport at the Blue column. (payment in envelope includes the driver tip) reservation for 6pm under the name 'Howard'.
5th August	Orchids Sunday Brunch at 10:45am Walk to Ala Moana- shopping Dinner at CPK Early night to bed ready for tour in morning	A $57.00 Chn. $39 (payment in envelope marked Orchids has tip included) Booking Lanai side under the name of Smith. Notify them it is Machaela's birthday Take Sephora voucher
6th August	Tour of the Big Island	Up at 5am to meet shuttle bus at foyer at 5:45 Book Wake up call. Need picture ID No camera bags allowed Remember travel sickness tabs.

Anaheim- Where do I stay?

I will write a post (or three) solely on Disneyland, don't you worry! This post is just on Anaheim hotels so it doesn't get lost in the Disneyland buzz.

Rough Driving times from Anaheim 
To LAX (Los Angeles airport) is approx 45 mins to 1hr.
Las Vegas is approx 4hr 10 mins
San Diego is approx 1hr 43 mins

The Travel Concierge tip: The traffic on the LA freeways is unpredictable. Depending on peak hours, traffic accidents or on days ending in "y" the traffic can be bumper to bumper. Allow PLENTY of time if you are heading to the airport or have a booking. TSA (security) at any airports these days is very time-consuming, but a few places like LAX are even worse so allow more than the usual hour to be at the airport before a domestic flight.

There are two types of accommodation choices at Anaheim- Disney Resort hotels and Good Neighbour hotels. 

Disney Resort Hotels

The original hotel was the Disneyland Hotel. It is past both theme parks and Downtown Disney- the opposite side to where most of the Good Neighbour hotels are. It has Goofy's Kitchen inside. (A character meal restaurant.) For those who want to stay at the hotel that Walt Disney put in place, this is it! The website with cost is found here.
What I love about this hotel- The light up sleeping castle bed headboards, Goofy's Kitchen and the pool area.

Pacific Pier was a chain  hotel that Disney brought out during one of their many expansions. It is the most basic of the three resort hotels but still has the perks of staying in a Disney Resort hotel. It also has a character meal restaurant (Surf's up)here based around a beach theme. The website with costs is found here.
What I love about this hotel- The rooftop pool area and the view of the fireworks with the synchronised music piped in on the third-floor pool deck.

The Grand Californian is the flagship hotel of Disneyland Resort, It has its own entrance into California Adventure. It is the most expensive of the three hotels. Why we stay here is because the rooms are larger and they fit 5 in the room with a queen bed and a bunk/ trundle bed configuration. We also love the foyer area with the HUGE fireplace, groupings of chairs and rocking chairs. We have stayed here a number of times, and the two Christmases we stayed here were extra special with the multi-storey Christmas tree and the visits from the Big man in red himself coming to pose for photos in front of the tree. The atmosphere year round is great and worth every penny. The Storyteller's Cafe is a great Chip and Dale-themed breakfast. At night, it is not a character meal, but the buffet and a la carte options are great. The website with costs is found here.
What I love about this hotel- The foyer area, the large rooms, Storytellers Cafe, the great pool and slide area and the private entrance to California Adventure.

Why do we enjoy staying at a Disney Resort?
Disney Resort hotel guests get the following perks;

1. Early entry to one of the theme parks every day of your stay. You get in one hour before the general public.
2. A private entrance to California Adventure
3. Access to be able to charge at all theme parks and Disney Resort hotels using your room key and to be able to have purchases made in the theme parks delivered to your hotel.
4. Close access to the parks and Downtown Disney.
5. Access to free activities run in the hotels.

Good Neighbour Resort Hotels

Disney has very high standards, so any hotel that is a part of the Good Neighbours hotels have to meet those standards. To be honest, most of the hotels are pretty much the same. You just need to decide on the following when choosing one of them

1. Is it just going to be a bed for you OR do you plan on spending a lot of time at your hotel?
2. Are you going in a season where you might use the pool? Will you be paying extra for a themed pool you won't use?
3. How long a walk do you want to have after being at the theme park all day OR how long do you want to have to wait at the end of the day with every other guest from your hotel to get on a shuttle bus or miss out on room and have to get the next one?
4. Will you have a car? What do they charge for you to have your car parked at the hotel? This has been a really big thing in the last 10 years. Before then most places parking was within the cost, now some hotels charge a large amount for you to have your car sitting in their lot while you theme park it.
5. Do you have points you can use at one of the hotels?

Personally, in Anaheim,we have never stayed at a hotel that we need to get a shuttle to. We prefer to just walk home when we are ready. At Disneyland, we get up first thing in the morning and are hard at it until night. Our children theme parked till they dropped. We took our own stroller for comfort and when they were babies, we made sure they were used to sleeping in it so we could just keep going and do a 'baby swap' on rides so one of us could keep riding while the other rode and then not have to line up again. Some of you will be able to do this. You need to think about if your child/ren won't sleep anywhere else other than a bed in a quiet room, and need a day sleep, how you will manage this while still getting value for your Disney buck! Likewise, think about whether if you are paying for extra perks and activities whether you will really use them or whether you are better to book one of the hotels that will cost less and have fewer perks if you are not going to use them. 

A starting point for Good Neighbour hotels is found on the Disneyland website here. Look to get an  idea and then if you want, you can start trying to get the cost lower yourself.

Booking Disneyland tickets/ hotel/ packages

I book all my own flights and accommodation and have done for over 15 years. When it comes to Disney, though, I book through a Disney travel agent that charges no commission. which means more money in my pocket! Contact me here and I can give you her details. The perks of booking through her are that you get a lanyard and free pin (Disney Badge) for Disneyland and luggage tags for Disneyworld. The other amazing perk is that after you book if there are specials that go on sale after you have booked, she applies them to your booking! 

The Travel Concierge tip:
If you are booking a good neighbour hotel on your own, get your best price and then go to the hotel website and contact the hotel directly to see if they have a manager's special that beats your lowest price. 99% of the time I will make a saving. It may be only $10 a night or $50 depending on the hotel.

Hotel Card keys

It is easy to look at the little plastic card and not be too concerned about it, but your hotel card key has all the details that you have given for your booking- this can include your name, address, and credit card number with expiry. It also unlocks your room which has all your belongings in it. Many places now allow you to charge things to the card, so it is essentially an extra credit card. If you lose it, let the hotel staff know immediately and ask them to cancel that card. At the end of the stay, I never give back the card. I always tell them that I collect them, so can I keep it and have never been denied. Even though they might wipe the card, as you know you can’t truly delete information, so I don’t want anybody else having access to my private information, especially when I am overseas not looking as closely to my banking statements. I do actually collect them. They make a great conversation piece when guests see them inside my glass table.