Pete & Jay's Tip O Da "Day"

If you get an email noting that your purchased itinerary has changed, look carefully at *all* the flight times and not just the flights the airline says it changed (designated in bold by Delta, for example). Also, call them if you find the changes unsatisfactory. This is preferential to trip regret when you discover late in the game your itinerary is hours longer than your originally purchased one.

It’s not so much the words, but how they are used. For example: Aussie = American Collection = Pick-up whilst = while give way = yield pram = stroller buggy = golf cart give it a go (givadago) hire = rent dummy = pacifier  motorway = highway booking = reservation take away = to go voucher  mind = watch essential = required capsicum = bell pepper lemonade = lemon flavored soda ring = call lift = elevator no worries = no problem biscuit = cookie

For some reason driving your car feels free, and just going to gas stations that is expensive. This nifty and surprisingly accurate tool will let you know what is the Distance & Cost To Drive . All of a sudden air travel & public transportation sound cheaper.

Nothing riles me up like a sick badger more than hidden fees. Smarter Travel comes to the rescue with The "Ultimate" Guide to Airline fees

UPDATED MAY 2012 & JUNE 2013 Allegiant Air  can be an inexpensive way to fly, plus they flight from smaller airports which can make it convenient if you don't live in a large city, but you'll end up paying a bit more then advertised. There are many fees and optional add-ons, but these tips and tricks can help you keep what you pay still dirt cheap. Avoid Fees There are tons of hidden fees, some of them you can't get around but many of them you can. Don't choose a seat When buying online, it almost looks like you have to pay a seating charge, but look closely, there is a little skip button that will save you some money. Don't worry they won't make you stand in the aisle. Book at the airport: Allegiant is charging at $13.50 $10 "Carrier usage charge" for buying your ticket online (and tack on another $10 $15 for buying over the phone). Regulators said there has to be a way around the fee so you can buy a ticket at the ticket counter ...

Cruises are advertised as pretty cheap. It isn't rare to see prices below $200. I've even seen some short cruises advertised in the double digits. But as we know from cell phone companies, the advertised price isn't the price you write the check out for. Here are some of the hidden fees you can expect to pay: Taxes and Fees: Varies of course. But a 3 night Bahama cruise will have around $35 USD is taxes and fees Fuel Surcharge This was an issue in 2008 with high gas prices, but since oil prices have dropped, these fees have been dropped as well. But if oil prices climb again, be on the lookout! Tip/Service Charge: All cruise lines is require a service charge or recommend a tip amount. It varies slight by cruise line, but a good rule of thumb is $10 per person per day. For exact amounts based on your cruise line check out the Cruise tip Calculator Excursions & Spa: Sadly the onboard Spa isn't included in the price. Excursions are activities arranged by the cruise...

Are you lonely and need a companion on those long motorcycle rides around town? Here's an instant friend. All credit on this picture goes to Renee

A little birdie told me that from May 19 through June 1, the Kentucky State Police have received a federal grant for writing tickets for speeding. Speaking of getting speeding tickets, I have also recently been informed about a useful website (whose interface could really use some maps) that lists common speedtraps around the country, called speedtraps.org .

My tip may seem to be rather odd, but it can be a life saver- or at least a travel saver. See, I went to Iowa for a friend's wedding, and got my hair cut short. Ten inches off and donated to Locks of Love. The problem was that I only had a driver's license as a photo ID, and was using a bank receipt and SS card as back up IDs. No problem leaving. But then in Iowa, trying to fly home, the security officer looks at my drivers license of me as a long-haired sixteen-year-old, and says, "This isn't you." I laughed, I thought she was joking...she wasn't. I stood there panicking, trying to push the bank receipt on her, but she just kept repeating, "No. This in NOT you." My friend was verifying my Id, I was pulling out my SS card and insurance card, searching for my debit- which I've hide in my purse because then when souvenir shopping I have to think about if this cheesey junk is worth the effort. But she won't have it, instead she is insisting I ...

Sometimes traffic updates every 6 minutes just aren't fast enough. All too often I have heard a traffic update about an accident I'm already stuck in. To hedge off this problems, Google and Yahoo! both have traffic views on their maps applications. But for those of us at Tip O Da Day headquarters in Lexington, KY that feature doesn't work. But if you've listening to NPR, you are sure to have heard about the Lexington Traffic Management Center. NPR isn't getting any sort of special traffic feed from them, they are just reading off the info posted to the LFUCG Traffic Management Center website . So take a quick check before you head out the door in the morning. LFUCG also has a 24 hour traffic hotline (859-258-3611).

When you travel alot it is easy to get cocky and not give yourself enough time to back, but you might think you have everything because you "do this all the time". Well that's where I am, but I still forget stuff, or at the very least go crazy trying to make sure I have everything. Just make a default packlist that you can print out before you go on a trip. It may not have everything you need, but it is meant to be a good start to make sure you have the basics/common items. I do it for video shoots at work, why for vacations?

A Scotsman will always correct you when you tell them "I speak the same language as you", or "You speak English here"! Why? Because Scotland very much wants to be independent, so what language will they say they speak? Scottish! They do have some different words to be sure... A besom is a difficult woman, a birl is a spin, bonnie is beautiful, a dunt is a bump, and rather than saying highway robbery, they'd say daylight robbery. And of course, a Loch is a lake, such as Loch Ness, Loch Lochy (or Lake Lakey), and Loch Lamond, and a glen is a valley. While some of these terms come from the Gaelic, most of them are just the English word with a Scottish accent. They are overall, pretty easy to understand. One interesting thing is that once you officially cross over to the Highlands, not just the geographic highlands, all the signs have both Gaelic and English writing on it because Gaelic is an official language of the Highlands. The picture is Loch Lamond in...

When going to a Scottish pub, it's a good idea to ask them how they got their name. Many of these pubs have very interesting stories behind their name. For example, Maggie Dickon's pub was named for a lady who was hanged in the square across from the pub. She was charged with concealing a pregnancy and hanged for the charge. As her friends were taking her body to the grave, they heard a scratching inside the box. As it turns out, she was only knocked unconscious from the hanging. It was determined that she'd been saved by God and when she was tried again, she was set free. From that point on, she was known as half-hanged Maggie. There is also "The World's End" which was named because it use to be on the edge of Edinburgh when it was walled in, so those from Edinburgh wouldn't have wanted to go beyond that wall. As far as they were concerned it was the World's End. Then there is the one pictured here...Deacon Broadies. He was a craftsman by ...

Scotland has its own native dishes. One such dish is haggis. With any breakfast it may look to an American as a common sausage, but rest assured, it's not. It's made mostly of lamb intestines/stomach and such organs along with some barley and spices. If it's coming with a buffet breakfast, because it's a native dish to the Scot's, it's probably worth a try, but if you really want to spend money on something truly Scottish, I'd recommend Irn Bru before I'd recommend haggis. Irn Bru is the native Scottish soft drink. It actually outsells Coke in Scotland. It's like an orange cream soda, is quite good if you ask me, and is available at any pub you'll find.

When arriving or leaving Scotland's Preswick Airport, train tickets to anywhere in Scotland are half price for passengers. So, as long as you don't mind a little extra time on a train, it's best when arriving to go ahead and buy your ticket for your final destination (provided you'll arrive there the same day), no matter how far. It will save lots of money! I'm not sure whether or not it's also true for the Edinburgh airport, but it's sure worth looking into before choosing your flights!

Flying out of London... Sure, it's easy to get in. That 2 hour time you have to show up at the airport at most airports, not entirely necessary. But in London...they mean business! There, when RyanAir says one bag for carry on, they mean it! I had a purse and a lap top, and they made me put my purse in the laptop bag to pass through security! Luci's bag weighed 10.3 kilos, and they made her adjust it to be less than 10! She'd gotten to London with a backpack and a suitcase both as carry-ons, but as we went back, not only did she have to take stuff out of the suitcase, but she had to pay an extra fee to check her bag. Here's a tip though, they had her mark it as fragile so it would get put up at the front of the plane! Apparently, you can request that. Because she'd gotten stopped at the security gate and sent back to check her bag, they shuffled her to the front. But I was still in line! We'd gotten there two hours early and finally made it to the gate ...

Any tour you take in London is going to be a good one. Their tour guides are rigorously trained...seriously, they spend 2 years in school and have to take 9 examinations at the end to prove their knowledge of English history before qualifying to apply for a job! Plus, after paying for all that, you'd better believe they love their job, and it shows. I took three tours in London...one to Leeds, Canterbury, and Dover. The next was a Jack the Ripper walk. The third was a walk with a "Beefeater" in the Tower of London . All of the tours were fantastic...the guides were both knowledgeable and entertaining. So no matter what tour you choose, your very likely to have someone who knows what they're doing. And, we discovered that it takes an average of 5 years to become a cab driver in the city because they have to know the streets so well and pass their own exam. London is really big on tourists! The picture above is the castle on the white cliffs of Dover.

Booking things in advance... Generally, booking things in advance is a good idea. You typically get better prices, better seating, etc...But, when you book a tour in advance, you pay the same price and you run the risk of losing that money if you have to cancel. Usually, in the states, if someone gets sick, you can get a refund if you are reasonable about it and cancel before hand. Unfortunately, customer service is a little lacking here. We called to cancel a tour, first of all they asked why they didn't get more notice. Their line was busy all morning. They also didn't get more notice because I'd just gotten sick. They told us the best they could do was 50% back, but as soon as we let them know that wasn't good enough, they sent us to expedia, who we booked through. Of course the best they could do was a $25 gift certificate! No go on that. So, lesson learned, if it's not a hotel room, a play, or a movie, I'm not booking in advance! Besides, since I...

Want to find platform 9 3/4? Look no further than King's Cross train station in London, just like it says in the book. Yes, you can literally follow the signs for platforms 9-11, and right there between platforms 9 and 10, you'll find platform 9 3/4. Because everyone wants to go to the platform and get to Hogwarts (I wish it actually took you there), they don't even look at you funny when you ask where it is!

One of the most famous things to go see in London is the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. It's a lot bigger than I thought. It involves an entire army band and a parade down the street. If you look real close, you can see that in their tall black hats, each soldier has a colored plume. There are 5 different colors that they could have. These colors signify where these soldiers are from. (Whales, Scottland, etc...) What may be even less known than that is that the changing of the guards actually starts at St. James palace where the guards come off duty. They start there, play a piece of music, then on with the marching to Buckingham Palace from there. Once you follow the band down the street, stick around after they've gone into the palace gates. There will also be a band coming from the other direction...from the barracks, the ones coming on duty. The picture is of the soldiers outside St. James.