Here's some that you might want to consider. Plan ahead of time. Try to know what you are going to do. Bring any extras, clothes, accessories, etc. (You never know what could happen.) Have fun!

If you fly, always carry an outfit and underwear in your carry on bag. Never expect "to find a room when you get there." Make reservatons.

Book your hotel in advance and bring extra clothes just in case.

book everything... keep all the reciepts and if its not up to standard dont hesitate to ask for money back or a better... room/car/ticket ect

Pay as much as you can on your credit card. That way you have insurance on buys and can get your money back if anything goes wrong. Always make sure you carry some clean underwear and Wet wipes with you. On a plane ride move about as much as you can , if you have to remain in a seat make sure you exercise your legs and feet Drink a lot of bottled water and make sure you always keep hydrated. Carry antibiotics

stay relaxed and enjoy yourself. People often get stressed and angry when things get hectic. Keep your plans on a loose schedule so you have enough time between connecting flights, etc. Nothing is worse than running through the airport or missing a flight. It is better to have an extra hour to grab a beer or buy a snack than have to hurry around.

These are my tips regarding flights: As far as the seating goes, it doesn't hurt to know in advance which are the good seats and which are the bad ones. Most frequent travelers already know which seats to avoid, so they either choose the seat of their choice when booking for a flight, or ask the gate agent for a specific seat number when checking in. Unfortunately the people who don't specify or request what seat they want end up with the left overs--the undesirable middle seats near the smelly bathrooms or the ones that don't recline at all. Remember that it's too late to ask for a seat change once you are on the airplane--you should do this before boarding. Check out this site about airplane seats: http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/Airfare-best-seat-when.html?id=11402 About delays: Always fly early in the day. Reason is, the very first flights of the days take off on time unless there's a catastrophe. As the day progresses, flights get delayed little by little affecting the latter flights. It's a domino effect. If there was bad weather at 9am, and the weather has cleared by 11am, all of the afternoon flights and even into the evening will be affected by the morning bad weather. Even if Chicago has beautiful weather, if New York or Dallas or any other large hubs were experiencing bad weather, that will result in delays in Chicago too. Reason is, planes from NY or other hubs are arriving in Chicago late, and Chicago needs those planes to continue on to other destinations. There are no airplanes sitting idle in hangars because it is not cost efficient. The airlines will milk every penny out of the use of each airplane they own. About fares: Depending on when you book your flight, the same seat can have a very different price. It is very likely that someone on your same flight paid only $100 and another person paid $1200 in the same cabin class. In order to get cheap fares, you have to be flexible on travel dates. Many discount fares require that you make a reservation 7, 14, or 21 days before your trip, depending on the fare. The best international fares often require you to make reservation 30 days in advance. Airlines sell only a limited number of seats at the lowest fares. When those seats sell out, the price goes up. Making a reservation as soon as you know your travel dates increases your chances of finding a fare that works for you. Flights on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday usually have the lowest fares. Sometimes (but not always) fares are higher on Monday and Friday than on other weekdays. Saturday flights occasionally have discount fares, but, as a rule, it's more expensive to fly on a weekend than a weekday. Most low fares require that you stay over at least one Saturday night before your return flight. However, some fares might only require you to stay a minimum of three or four days. Some other miscellaneous tips that's useful: 1. Carry your own earphones. If the airplane is equipped with in-flight movies, you can watch them for free. If you don't have your own headphone, you can buy one onboard, but I think that's wasteful. 2. Bring snacks and munchies from home. On domestic flights, you can buy snacks onboard, but who wants to pay $3 for one cookie and $5 for a lousy sandwich? Eat your own snacks, and get free sodas onboard. Ask for a whole can and a cup with ice. 3. Bring a laptop computer and maybe few DVD movies to kill time, in case the airplane is a small kind and isn't equipped with TVs. Or how about an iPod. 4. Bring your own eye mask and ear plugs if you want to sleep the entire flight. Inflatable pillows are great too, because they don't take up much space in your bag once deflated. 5. Wear layers. It can get chilly on the airplane especially because you're just sitting and not being active. 6. Bring a magazine or a book if you want to read. The only reading material onboard is the in-flight airline magazine and the safety card. 7. If you have a favorite tea, bring your teabags and ask the crew for a cup of hot water. 8. Don't bring any liquids/gels larger than 3 ounces. Fit them all in one quart size zip-loc bag. 9. Make sure your carry-on bag is 22" or less rollaboard. If it's bigger than 22", it's no longer considered a carry-on, and the airline will take it from you to put it in the airplane's belly and you will have to go to the baggage claim carousels upon arrival. Also, if you stuff it too much, the bag becomes too "fat" to fit in the overhead bins. 10. Try to avoid using the toilet on the airplane because they're dirty! Go and empty your bladder before you board the airplane. 11. If you must use the toilet during the flight, go when there are no beverage carts in the aisle, and when the seatbelt signs are turned off. If the crew are serving drinks in the aisle, you can get stuck and not be able to return to your seat until the drink service is completed. And if you get up from your seat when the seatbelt sign is on, the crew might tell you to sit down, but don't blame them because this is company procedure and they're doing what they're told to do. 12. The line to the bathroom is longest when the movie has just ended. 13. Carry your own everything including headache medicine, baby's diapers, bandaids. The airlines really have nothing onboard anymore. 14. Never use nailpolish on the airplane. It is one of the prohibited items. See the inflight magazine for a list or more prohibited items that cannot be used onboard. 15. Do not consume alcoholic beverages you bought at duty free. All alcohol must be served and controlled by the crew. 16. Avoid doing anything that might look suspicious. Thanks to terrorists, the crew are always watching out for suspicious activity, such as a person bringing a bag into the lavatory. I hope these tips will help you in the future!

Try to book everything all at the same time with the same website. The plane, the car rental, and the hotel. And the farther ahead of time you book the more money you will save. Double check everything 24-2 hours before you leave on your trip to make sure there has been no cancellations.

Don't go. You only have to pack at the end of it to go home again - think of the effort you'll save. Plus you won't have to put up with crowded airports, flight delays, screaming children, boring strangers, aircraft food, hotel food, sleeping in a strange bed, tourists, tour reps that don't give a s**t, etc, etc.

The best travel tip I can give is this: accept serendipity as the noblest part of travel. The second best is: go beyond the normal boundaries. Yes, everyone may stick to the same place - why should you? The third: if a situation/person arises and invites you somewhere you won't have thought of on your own, follow it i.e. plans should be a straitjack in the same way a straitjacket was a straitjacket to Houdini. The fourth (and a practical one): if backpacking - takes lots of plastic bags and put your clothes in these. Yes, they rustle and can be annoying. But would you rather all your clothes got wet? Four should do...