Travel Tip Tuesdays!

I am hardly a travel guru by any stretch of the imagination but I like to think I'm a smart traveller which has come from being observant, doing some research and accumulating tips and tricks from personal anecdotes and suggestions along the way.

I often get asked by friends about my random travel tips which they say are really useful, so I thought I might as well blog about some of them in case others want to hear them too. Once in a while will be Travel Tip Tuesday, especially when I think of a new tip or trick ;) A lot of them I used to assume was common knowledge but apparently not so even if one person reads this and finds it useful I'll be happy :) Apologies if it seems boringly obvious to you though!

So anyway, the first one is a bit random - water bottles at the airport.

<Random pic, I know, but aren't these water bottles awesomely cool and stylish?>

I hate being dehydrated and worst still is when you're on the plane and they offer you those tiny gulps of water in plastic cups. Not enough for me! So a must bring for me is a bottle of water.

I know this might be getting lifted soon, but with the ban on any liquids over 100ml most people think you can't bring water bottles through and foolishly buy new bottles after bag check which of course is always at superinflated prices.

All you need to do is ensure your water bottle is empty prior to going through bag check/scan (regardless of its size). You can even empty the liquid contents of your bottle into those plastic bag lined bins which are always at the entry point. I usually like to bring recyclable plastic bottles for this purpose (in case they really get picky and confiscate it from you) but I've seen others bring those metal flask like containers and specialty plastic bottles.

Once past the check point, there are usually water fountains readily available for you to fill up your bottle with fresh (often cold!) aqua for your drinking pleasure!

I can tell you that I've had 100% success rate with no confiscated bottles across the many continents, countries, airports and flights I've been on so I hope you have the same experience. I have to admit, airports are becoming a lot less picky, so this might not be such a big deal anymore but as with all things travel related its better to be safe than sorry right? Actually when I was travelling through Frankfurt airport I completely forgot to empty my bottle and the security personnel wouldn't let me throw out the contents since I was already on the other side of the conveyer belts. Instead he was nice enough to say he would let me take the bottle if I consumed the contents of the bottle so he just watched me do that and he was satisfied. Easy!


Did you already know this tip and if so, have you had problems with it previously?