Travel Talk Dallas Recap

Hey everyone! I am recapping our lovely event of Travel Talk Dallas hosted by myself and Shasha of Diary Being Being Shasha! This was my first time hosting a workshop and I was sooo excited yet nervous. It was good turnout and a wealth of information and tips were shared not only by ShaSha of Busy Being Shasha and I but also from our two other panelist Jennifer of Sassy Teacher Chic and AJ of  Diary of Ambam It was held last month at Café Express off McKinney avenue! The location was perfect in the heart of Uptown Dallas and they supplied us with yummy appetizers and mimosas. Everything is great when there are mimosas! So many awesome questions were asked and awesome answers were given. Sometimes it is great to have that one on one interaction with people because questions may come up that others may not have thought of or we may have answers that we never thought to share but now we see how important they are to some. So check out the recap of what you missed!

 

Travel Tips: Domestic, International, Family & Group

We had a wonderful panel at Travel Talk Dallas which covered various topics areas of travel that different people may fall in. Shasha covered domestic travel, I covered international travel, Jennifer covered traveling with kids and AJ covered traveling in groups. Each panelist gave tips that even I didn’t know about and very helpful information that I will remember the next time I will travel whether with my spouse, in a group and in the future with kids. Below are just some tid bits that was mentioned at the event but you can find more tips on each of their blog pages which I also have linked below too.

Domestic Travel Tips from Shasha of Busy Being Shasha

1. Opt to travel from Saturday-Tues for extended weekend trips at lower fares.
2. Pack light when traveling on budget carriers and know the policies beforehand
3. Use a contact lense case to hold earring studs or a straw for necklaces
4. Priceline, Groupon, and Hotel Tonight are great sites for last minute deals.
5. Check beforehand to see what toiletries your hotel has available to save on space

 

Family Travel Tips from Jennifer of Sassy Teacher Chic

1. Request Family Boarding if kids are 6 and under
2. GB Pockit stroller is an excellent travel stroller! It folds down as small as a backpack! You can purchase them here, here or here.
3. PreCheck is a  time saver when going through airport security.
4. Travel with another family or close friends allow you to have a “datenight” without kids, if you agree to babysit for one another.

Group Travel Tips from AJ of Diary of Ambam

1. Flight Deals are your best friends! Check out CheapDFW.com, Google Flights and The Flight Deal for inexpensive flights.
2.  Don’t be afraid to depart from other cities. Sometimes it’s cheaper to leave from another city.
3. If you’re taking a group trip, understand that all personalities will not mesh well. You can’t bring every friend on your trip so be mindful about who you bring along. You’ll be with these people from sunrise to sunset, so make sure you bring friends that you’ll get along with.
4. Use Digit to save money for your vacation. Digit takes out a portion of money from your bank account every day and saves it in another account. You can even have Digit save a certain amount of money over the course of a few months.
5. If traveling solo stay at hostels.  Contrary to popular belief, they’re not scary. Pretty affordable and you can request a private room if you don’t want to share a room with strangers. If you are still uncomfortable with the idea of staying at a hostel, try Airbnb. You can rent out an entire house for as low as $40 a night.

International Travel Tips from Cindy (me)- Foreign Fresh & Fierce Style

There were just so many international travel tips and information that I really wanted to share at the event that I really could not get to them all. I have learned so many tips and tricks from every trip that I take. To read all the tips I shared and more about traveling internationally check out my 3 part series on International Travel Tips here! I shared tips on when is the best time to buy international flights, the best time to book international hotels and from which website, best travel essentials and how to score awesome airfare. One of the awesome features that I mentioned was the Desley Paris luggage! They have incredible smart luggage that allow you to charge your electronic devices while at the airport, let you know if your bag is overweight, some even have a scale built into them to tell you how much your luggage weighs. This is such a time saver before heading to the airport. Another product I featured is TEP Wireless where you can have rent a pocket size wifi hotspot for international travel. This can save you so much money because up to 5 users can use the hotspot and fee hotspots can be hard to find in Europe and the strength may not be that great when you do find it. Both the TEP and the Delsey Luggage made it to my 2018 Top Travel Essentials which you can check out my full post here!

 

 

The Swag & Giveaways

We had so many awesome giveaway and sponsors during our event! Each person left with Swag bag and got a chance to win some amazing giveaways too. Our friends at Omni gave away a 1 night stay for two at the brand Omni Frisco hotel! This is one nice hotel within walking distance of the stadium. Need an umbrella but want something that looks more chic. Vinrella gave away one of there wine bottle umbrellas which they sell a variety of colors. We all have been on a long flight and wished we could have a nice cocktail like a margarita! Our friends at W and P Design gave away a carryon cocktail kit to enjoy on your next flight! these are the coolest things ever! I was really excited about Walkabout Travel Gear being one of our sponsors! They gave away a Travel converter/transformer kit which includes adaptors from several countries, 2 silk TravelSheets perfect for staying at hostels and everyone got a European adaptor for their next trip to Europe. Many people don’t know that every countries sockets/outlets are different and you need an adaptor to plug in. We had given away an amazing Duffle Bag Wheeler by Joy Mangano! This was one super chic leather luggage! Definitely check out Joy Mangano Luggage collections!

We also want to thank these sponsors  ZENTS for providing the wonderful body sprays, Country Archer for the yummy beef jerky, Belvoir Fruit Farms for the Elderflower & Rose lemonades – OMG these are so good and now my favorite go to drinks TEP Wireless for the free wifi rental service, OSEA Malibu for the awesome cleansers, and the beautiful passport covers from Pretty Little Passports. Also  Bucky for the wonderful eye masks that are perfect for flights! They really do block out the light and are super comfortable. Much deeded on international flights back to the USA because it never gets dark on the plane.  If you like to purchase an eye mask, use code TRAVELTALK for 15% off your purchase at Bucky.com! 

 

 

I would like to thank everyone who came out to the event, the panelists and Shasha for making this event possible and so awesome! We may have another event happening in your area soon so stay tuned!