10 do’s and don’ts for summer vacation

Summer do’s: Dress right and carry a big tip
1. Dress appropriately
Pay special attention to formal and informal dress codes at your destination.  They may have let you on the airplane with those shorty shorts, Missy, but at European churches, visitors are expected to cover their shoulders and knees and folks wearing low-cut or sleeveless shirts, shorts or mini-skirts often get turned away.

2. Tip generously
Remember your first summer job? Mine was at an A&W Root Beer drive-in and I still remember the guy who gave me a $5 tip for my first, very poorly-made, float. A lot of young people will be out there this summer busting their behinds on their first (low-) paying jobs at the restaurants, hotels and attractions you visit on your vacation. So tip generously; you’ll make a big impression.

3. Be a great guest and a gracious host
Staying at a friend’s home is a great way to stretch your travel budget and get an insider’s view of a new city. And opening your home to travelers can give you a new appreciation of your own home town. The dividends can be lasting: low-maintenance guests often get welcomed back; gracious hosts get invites to guest rooms in far-off lands.

4. Travel light
Traveling offers a chance to leave your worries — and your stuff — behind. Pack just the essentials and skip worrying about toting heavy suitcases in and out of hotel rooms, keeping watch over your valuables or packing and unpacking outfits you probably won’t wear anyway.

5. Be cool.  Be loose. Become a well-adjusted, well-mannered traveler
Summer is for kicking back and relaxing; not just your dress code, but your attitude. So at the airport, smile at the TSA person patting you down and pawing through your carry-on. Out on the highway, let that driver yakking on his cell phone speed on by. At the amusement park, let that family with the obnoxious, whiny kid step in front of you in line. Your sanity and your good humor may end up being the best souvenir of your summer vacation.

MORE FROM SUMMER TRAVEL

Summer Travel Section Front

Museum Day showcases culture at no cost Travel’s inconvenient convenience Get your motor running Top 10 national park lodges FirstPerson: Readers share their summer fun Getting through the dog days of summer Summer fun on the slopes Rock out at the world’s coolest music festivals Discover the granddaddy of scenic road trips World's sexiest beaches Summer Travel Section Front   Add Summer Travel headlines to your news reader: