Travel Tips: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

And a few other thoughts...

Planes

Your flight expense is not included in your Hyppie Life retreat or travel experience.

I am not a travel agent, nor do I receive any commission from any airline (yet!). These are my preferences from a considerable amount of international travel.

I use airline apps (Delta, American, AirFrance) and google flights to find the best airfare possible for a length of time I am willing to travel from point A to point B. Aspects I consider are the departure city of choice, arrival city of choice, total time of travel (it is listed for each leg of your roundtrip ticket), level of seat comfort, and total price.

While I indulge on clothing, makeup, and many gourmet meals, I do not typically splurge on first class tickets. I can sleep pretty much in any position at any time, so I prefer to save my money. I do purchase economy plus and comfort plus levels of seating (just above basic), so that I have luggage and seating privileges. Be sure to read the details on how many pieces of luggage are free and boarding privileges before you choose your ticket.

First class ticket considerations should include researching flights from international airports as well as your local airport. You may save considerable money purchasing the intitial leg(s) at an economy rate and the international leg at first class.

Things to know before you go:

• Passport regulations in the destination country. Some countries require a passport with less than 6 months to expiration. Yes! You will need a new passport if you are approaching the expiration date.

• International security check(s). While most US airports have one TSA checkpoint, it is common in other countries to pass through 2-3 checkpoints. Learn from my experience, don’t stop for that last glass of champagne until you see your gate!

• Always travel as light as possible and plan on stairs. Heed my advice or learn as you go, you will eventually travel light.

Trains

All train tickets are your responsibility to reserve and purchase for your Hyppie Life retreat or travel experience.

I find it crucial to research travel by train from my arrival airport options to my final destination before choosing my airfare. While really good airfare may influence my arrival airport, I want to know how I am getting to my final destination before I purchase my plane ticket.

European train companies are accessible through the web and apps. I use the apps more often than computer web pages simply because I find them easier to navigate and locate my ticket when boarding. I do not print my train tickets.

European train apps for upcoming Hyppie Life retreats:

• France: SNCF

• Italy: Italia

• Spain: Renfo

When purchasing tickets, I suggest you compare train type, price, and length of time. High speed trains decrease travel time considerably and are often not more expensive.

In general, I find France train stations calm, organized, and easy to navigate. I find Spain train stations to be energetic, somewhat organized, and mildly easy to navigate. I find Italy to be chaotic, not organized, and complex to navigate when in a new location.

French train stations tend to have ramps and designated locations to board your assigned train car. Spanish train stations have a combination of ramps, escalators, and stairs that varies by train station. I don’t find Spanish stations particularly challenging nor easy to navigate platforms for boarding. Italian train stations have mostly stairs with the rare occasion of an elevator(don’t depend on an elevator). In Italy you need to know the direction of the train engine to know where to board on each platform. Trains arrive and depart quickly in Italy. If you are pressed for time, you can always board and walk through the train cars.

Automobiles

Trips hosted at retreat centers will not typically require the need for a car rental for the group. Smaller, private trips hosted in villas will typically require the use of 2 cars. Trips requiring cars will typically have an initial meeting point at the closest train station for transportation to the accommodations.

The cost of the cars is included in your trip purchase. Obviously, I cannot drive more than one car! LOL. If you are willing to drive an additional car for the duration of a trip, please let me know. You will need a valid U.S. driver’s license and pass a background check.

A few other thoughts…

With a little research, it is typically easy to navigate the world while traveling. English is prevalent in all global locations I have visited. And, of course, your phone can translate if you are ever in a situation with non-english speaking citizens. I have not had one rude encounter and have experienced the generosity of Africans, Spaniards, Frenchmen, and Italians many times!

Additional travel apps I frequently use are Rome2Rio, Booking.com, Tripit, Globe Convert, and Splitwise.

Each Hyppie Life trip will have pre-booking and post-booking planning video calls to help you make the best travel plans. I am also available via email to answer your questions.