When traveling with your spouse or partner, pack two suitcases, with clothing and toiletries for both split between the two. That way, should one suitcase become lost or misdirected, neither will be without a change of clothes.

For similar reasons, pack a basic change of clothes in your carry-on luggage.

Pack one or two of the cardboard tubes that come inside gift-wrapping-paper. They will be invaluable if you buy posters or drawings. The tubes take up virtually no room and clothes can be wrapped around them.

If you will be sending postcards, take a sheet of pre-addressed labels.They're lighter than an address book and you'll always see who hasn't yet been sent a card.

Before departing, photocopy your passport ID page, airline tickets and all the credit cards you will be traveling with, and pack them somewhere completely separate. These copies will prove invaluable and timesaving should you need to obtain replacements.

Large T-shirts double very well as night gowns and swimsuit cover-ups.

Make sure your passport does not expire within 6 months of your travel date. Most countries insist that it be valid for at least that period of time and some of them insist on as long as a year.

Use a durable ID card inside your luggage as well as outside to facilitate its return. A large percentage of lost luggage stays lost because the outside identifying tags have become removed and airline staff cannot identify ownership.

If you're going to a popular tourist attraction, take all the film you're likely to need with you. It will usually cost you much less than if purchased at say, Disneyland or any major vacation spot.

Travel with lots of single dollar bills to use for tips during airport transfers, hotel arrivals, and on courtesy busses.