Savvy Spice Munich street shot

Guest post: Travel tips for the US and Europe by Savvy Spice

June 12, 2014
Dale Janée founded the fashion and lifestyle site, SavvySpice.com in San Francisco in 2011. Life is very different for her after a whirlwind romance, marrying a German husband, and moving to Zurich, Switzerland last summer. She shares the hottest fashion, decor and lifestyle secrets she spots in France, Italy, Spain and wherever the weekend takes her. Dale’s light-hearted style tips, outfit inspiration and beauty secrets from ‘How to Do’ a topknot to toned legs are featured weekly.
In 2012, after years of searching for the best hair and skincare products including anti-aging tricks, she launched the high-end luxury brand of 100% pure satin pillow cases for skin and hair with the secret pocket called Savvy Sleepers.
Savvy Spice Munich street shot

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Traveling is one of the most enlightening and rich experiences we can have. It also comes with a fair share of unseen drama, delays, and headaches. As someone who only started traveling about 14 months ago, I wanted to share my top tips for traveling; especially from the US to Europe.

1. Don’t Risk Running Late for an International Flight:

It’s not a joke. Sure, on a Southwest jaunt from LA to Vegas you can pop into the airport 30 minutes before your flight, but international flights really do board earlier than domestic flights and checking in bags have a cut-off time. Airlines often only have a few flights going to a destination each day so if you miss it, you really miss it.

Savvy Spice in downtown Zurich

2. Skip the Hair Extensions

Nine times out of ten, when I have my clip-in hair extensions in walking through the security check, I will get stopped for an additional pat-down or metal detector scan. It’s best to go extension free because they can be especially uncomfortable trying to sleep on the plane. Plus, you don’t want to freak out the person next to you taking out your clip-in extensions while he’s trying to enjoy a mid-flight Ginger Ale.

 

3. Your Bag is Too Heavy? No Problem.

When you fly international flights, they are very strict with the weight of your bag. If you are 1 Kilo over; it can cost $100. Take out the magazines, books, and jewelry which are usually weight killers and stuff them into your purse. Transfer the weight. Is your carryon over weight now? Start putting on all of your jewelry. You’ll look ridiculous, but they’ll understand and not want to waste more time. Your bag will go through.

Savvy Spice in Rome

4. Learn Hello, Goodbye and Thank You

If learning new languages isn’t your forte, I can relate. I’m trying to learn German now and it’s making my high-school Spanish class look like a breeze. But I highly advise learning at least the very basics in each country you’re visiting. Especially in Europe, where every few hours, you’re in a new country with a new language.

Savvy Spice in Milan Savvy Spice in downtown Zurich

5. Fly Pretty

I hate red-eye flights or any flight over 7 hours. I take a nap and when I wake up my skin feels like burnt toast with a layer of butter on it. Makeup looks cakey, your skin feels dehydrated and you would take a shower over a any pair of heels you’ve been lusting over. Always be prepped on planes with a ‘glam pack’ including lotion, a toothbrush, a bit of face-wash, a facial spray and definitely chapstick. My favorite is actually an oldie, but goodie – Vaseline lip therapy.

Savvy Spice on Swiss hill

Enjoy your summer travels! ~xoDale

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  • Ellesees.blogspot.com June 12, 2014 at 08:02

    totally agree with all of these tips. and i have her pillow case and love it.

  • Krysten June 12, 2014 at 08:56

    Ugh I HATE how much they charge for luggage these days, it’s awful!

  • Heather June 12, 2014 at 11:40

    These are great tips! I can’t wait to travel to Europe again.

  • Rowena June 12, 2014 at 12:49

    Fab tips Dale! I find learning some basic phrases in the language of the country you’re visiting really helps but it’s also good that there are so many translator apps out there these days 🙂

    Rowena @ rolala loves

  • lisa June 12, 2014 at 13:22

    love this!!! most ppl don’t know this but dale and i use to be roomies when we lived in sf lols!!!

    she’s amazing and her tips are definitely on point!

    thanks for your kind words 🙂 it’s really good that you rubbed oil on your belly when you were preggo.. i think for most ppl that are overweight though.. it doesn’t really occur to us to rub cream/oils on ourselves because we’re fighting and pretty much in denial about the weight LOL.. the stretch marks themselves are an afterthought.. but they do become glaringly obvious after you lose weight!! but it’s ok learning to love ourselves is so important and it’s something i’m learning to do everyday now!

    http://www.lisalovescoco.blogspot.com

    • Chic 'n Cheap Living June 12, 2014 at 22:04

      Lisa, yes I remember you saying you knew Dale form somewhere! Small world huh?
      Yes I definitely knew I was going to gain and lose a lot of weight with pregnancy so I could anticipate the stretch marks. My husband obviously didn’t know he would lose weight too so his stretch marks are really visible. I’m so glad that you are learning to love yourself. You are styling and lovely and don’t forget that!

  • Johanna June 12, 2014 at 13:54

    What gorgeous pics. I love her sense of style. If only we could have those back drops for all our style posts, right?

  • Lyddiegal June 12, 2014 at 22:36

    Thanks for the travel tips! Now I’m having a bit of wanderlust myself…

  • Dale Janee June 13, 2014 at 04:20

    Thank you so much for giving me the chance to do this guest post and I hope the tips help anyone flying to EU. :)) Fun seeing the sweet comments too and I’ve been loving all Lisa’s posts on health and weight loss. Thanks again and have a great weekend!

    xoDale

  • KizzyDoll June 13, 2014 at 05:20

    These are great tips!! I would definitely agree with learning the basics of each country you visit when they speak another language, even if they speak English, still learn a little bit about the people. Because if they only speak a little english, they will try, but also if you speak a bit of their language, it is appreciated and they will try their best to help you. Also, really adhere to the rules of the country, I’ve seen a lot of travellers come through that expect things to be like their own country (sadly, Americans do this a lot) and its not very nice. Europe is full of brilliant places, this was great. Happy Friday doll, enjoy your weekend xx

  • Sam June 13, 2014 at 09:10

    Im planning a trip in the near future and these were such helpful and useful tips! Thanks! Have a great start to the weekend hun!

  • Sahara Summer | SavvySpice June 18, 2014 at 15:22

    […] I hope you’re having a great week and special thanks to one of my favorite bloggers Chic ‘n Cheap Living for giving me a chance to guest post on her site with my top European Travel Tips. […]

  • Heel in Mint June 19, 2014 at 22:20

    Those are some great tips. I love the pictures and Dale looks amazing. 🙂

    xx
    Heel in Mint
    http://www.heelinmint.com

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