‘I don’t know if I’ve ever hated anyone more’
Road-testing travel companions among tips sure to make for smoother journeys
Pauline Frommer is co-president of Frommer Media, alongside her father, guidebook pioneer Arthur Frommer. This year is the 60th anniversary of his first book. The Frommer series now has more than 100 titles; Pauline has written eight of them. Here are her travel secrets:
A safety tip to help you blend in almost anywhere: Evelyn Hannon of journeywoman.com gave me one of the best pieces of practical advice I’ve ever heard. Because female travellers are more likely to be harassed in some countries if they’re seen to be outsiders, the first thing she does when she gets to a new destination is shop for something small in a very local grocery store or pharmacy. And then she carries the bag that her purchases came in around with her, because she knows that, no matter how different she looks from others in the place, the bag will mark her as a local — and possibly provide some protection.
The one thing you didn’t know you needed for a family trip: Never travel without a headphone splitter — that’s my mom tip. It allows two or three people to plug in their headphones and watch the same movie at once. It’s been a lifesaver.
If you’re planning travel with your family, you’re probably looking at the wrong places: I think you need to go to countries that allow kids to do things that would be illegal here. In Belize, for example, my 10-year-old was rappelling off the side of cliffs, and we swam into these caves where there was a cathedral-like room with ancient Mayan artifacts calcified to the floor, including bones from human sacrifices. I don’t want them always to be comfortable. To me, on a vacation, it’s about being brave and challenging themselves. The single feature that transforms any hotel room: I always book a room with a balcony, whether at an Airbnb or a hotel room. You can get out of the confines of your room and see the life around you but still have the privacy to be out there in your robe, drinking a cup of coffee. I remember being in a room like that in Paris, right off Boulevard St. Germain in a building set around a courtyard. I would sit there and watch the neighbours, seeing how they really lived their lives. Always road-test a travelling companion before a big trip: First do a two-day, short trip with anyone you haven’t travelled with. On my first trip at college — I was on a research trip for my dad, as I’m a Frommer — I went for three months with my friend Darren. By the end of the trip, we despised each other; I don’t know if I’ve ever hated anyone more. It was because we didn’t travel in the same way. He always wanted to interact while I need time to burrow into a book or be alone with my thoughts. You both need to know who you are when you choose a travelling companion.
If you’re going to the Grand Canyon, don’t make the same mistake everyone else does: Too many people just drive up to it, say, “Ooh, there it is,” and leave. But you have to go under the rim — maybe just 400 feet, or a 30-minute hike — and that will change things immensely and add to your understanding. Go under the rim, and suddenly the landscape is totally transformed. At sundown or sun-up, it’s a different canyon. And you have to force yourself to stand still and let it work on you. You have to just look and let it affect you. The same is true in a museum: If you try to flit around there and see too many things, you get exhausted. You have to commune with what you’re looking at, so it’s a revitalizing experience.