Concerning airport transfers, I have a few tips that can help.

First, when choosing your flights, pay attention to flight number changes. It could be a simple stopover or plane change or it could be code-sharing where you actually check in at another airline’s counter or have to move across the airport to another concourse.

Second, watch for the airport codes. For example, one thing you should know is LON and RIO are codes for the cities of London, England, and Rio de Janeiro,...

I had to fly urgently to the U.K. on family business and so made arrangements over the Internet to rent a car from Dollar Rent A Car at London’s Heathrow Airport, Feb. 10-20, 2007. The total price I was quoted on Expedia was about £110 (near $219).

On arrival at Heathrow, I could not see a Dollar representative or booth anywhere. After going to information, I discovered that the Dollar Rent A Car (and, for that matter, Thrifty Rent A Car) agent was located at the Sheraton Hotel, some...

The letter “Missed Cruise Due to Visa Snafu” (June ’07, pg. 32) highlighted the potential danger in not having sufficient blank pages in your passport. A couple was denied boarding in Frankfurt for their flight to South Africa because they each did not have a full page remaining in their passport for the required visa on arrival (they had booked the cruise and flight through Princess Cruises). They, like many travelers, were unaware that a full blank page was needed.

Because of the...