Are you ready to take flight for the long-anticipated vacation, or hit the road for yet another business recruiting trip? Whatever your reason for getting out of town, here are tips to make travel simpler and more enjoyable.

"I went to a tradeshow and discovered I had forgotten a blouse for my suit,"says Diana Sprayberry, director of sales for the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau. "All the hotel gift shop carried was printed T-shirts, and it was too late in the evening to grab a cab and go shopping. The gift shop did have some lacey table coverings. (I did see Gone with the Wind several times, and this option was better than pulling down the hotel-room curtains.) With scissors and the hotel sewing kit, I was able to attend the tradeshow with my dignity intact. Since then, I have used a checklist."

A checklist is essential for traveling. Write everything on the list, even obvious things such as toothbrush, camera, passport, jacket, plane tickets, and house keys. It is the simple items that are often forgotten. If you are bringing more than one bag, then make a checklist for the bags, too.

Health Essentials
Pack our prescription medication in your carry-on, not in your suitcase. "You don't want be flying and suddenly realize that your insulin is under the plane É or the heart medication you need is with your lost luggage,"says Katrina Stephenson of AAA Travel, Albuquerque. She advises carrying a copy of the prescription, and having a copy of the generic name it may be all that is available at your destination.

Extra glasses are especially important. Imagine presenting to clients and having to squint at them, or not being able to read your notes.

It can affect travel for pleasure too. "There was a man who took off his glasses to take a photograph; he put them on his seat," explains Stephenson. "Then he sat on them and broke them. And he didn't have glasses the rest of the trip."Your eyeglass prescription is a good item to bring, too - in many places you can have new glasses made in an hour or two.

If you wear contacts, bring extra solution. The solution selling in other locations may be different than yours. It could damage your lenses, cause an allergic reaction, or simply not clean them.

Clothing Essentials
Another travel essential is comfortable shoes. Pack more than one pair, in case one pair gets soaked and needs to dry out the next day. (This is common in many climates that are not as dry as ours.) Consider shoes for the activities you may be involved in: hiking, jogging, walking, attending church or a wedding, performing business, etc. With shoes and everything else you pack, weather and climate also should be considered. "You could arrive at a location expecting sunny skies and instead be freezing or wet," says Sprayberry, who always checks www.weather.com before a trip. If necessary, bring a raincoat, poncho, hat, gloves, scarf, boots, mosquito repellent (if you have never used it, test it at home first), etc.

Fashion consultant and personal shopper Debra Cox relies on a simple formula for business travel. She likes to coordinate a wardrobe with four to five pieces that she can mix and match. She looks for clothing that won't wrinkle and tries to match it with one or two pairs of shoes. "Then you look good every day while still wearing basically the same clothes,"Cox says.

Black and navy blue are the core colors, with "just a few accents," says Cox. She says wearing scarves and accessories can make the difference between an outfit for a business meeting and an outfit for a business dinner. Cox spends time in New York City and Texas throughout the year, and puts her own suggestions into practice.

If you will be spending time sightseeing or outdoors, then bring clothing you can breathe in, such as cotton. Kate Henningsen, vice president of operations at Bolack Total Travel, recommends that people traveling together pack half of each person's clothing in one suitcase. Then, if the airline misplaces the luggage, both people will still have some items.

When traveling as a pair, you should put the names of both you and your partner on the traveler's checks, Stephenson advises. That way, should an emergency occur, either one of you will be able to access funds.

Trip insurance is too often overlooked, according to Stephenson. If you are involved in an accident in a country with poor hospitals, trip insurance will airlift you to a good hospital. It not only covers accidents that happen on your trip, but accidents that prevent you from going on your trip. "People spend thousands of dollars on a vacation but then won't buy insurance,"she says.

Thieves are a bigger concern than accidents. Stephenson was once in the Sistine Chapel where it was so crowded that a thief removed a woman's fanny pack without anyone noticing! Be aware that there are hundreds of thousands of people whose entire living is pick pocketing tourists. Don't contribute to their salary. Keep your money close to you; there are many products that will keep your money under your clothing. Writing your name inside your suitcase will help you if your luggage tags are torn off during a flight as well as help with recovery if your bags are stolen.

Be aware of your surroundings all the time. Do not be afraid to ask what areas are safe and which to avoid.

Bottled water is not just good to drink in foreign countries; it is good to drink on the plane. Susan Bender of Carlson Wagonlit Travel says that many international flights are night flights and "after people go to sleep, [flight attendants] stop bringing around the drink cart."This can cause dehydration.

Bender adds that many people do not realize that they need an adapter for electrical appliances, such as laptops and curling irons. If you travel to one country often, it may be cheaper to buy certain electrical appliances in that country, rather than buy an adapter. Stephenson frequents England and Australia, and has hairdryers for each.

For telephone communications, many airports rent cell phones. International calling cards are also a cost-efficient option.

Do not take it for granted that what is available in the United States will be available in other countries. For coffee and tea, many countries use only sugar, rather than an artificial sweetener such as aspartame or saccharine. If you need an artificial sweetener, then bring small envelopes like you would find at a U.S. restaurant.

Some doctors will prescribe antibiotics in advance of a trip. Depending on your destination, this may be a good idea for you. Most antibiotics are inexpensive; you may bring the bottle with you. If you do not need it, throw it out when you get home. But if you need it, then you have it, rather than illness ruining your trip.

Travel by Car
As a recruiter for New Mexico Highlands University, Antoinette Gallegos often spends up to eight weeks on the road. Before any trip, she advises checking the spare and the jack. She brings tools, such as a ratchet and pliers, and keeps a flashlight in the car - then she is prepared in case she needs to go to the trunk in the dark.

Gallegos also carries a tire gauge. She often arrives in a town after the gas stations have closed, so she uses the air pumps and her own tire gauge.

Frequent Travel PRE-PACKING
"I would not say a bag needs to be packed ahead of time,"Henningsen says. "Part of the fun of traveling is packing and preparing for your trip."

However, if you travel often, it is often more convenient to have a bag packed or have duplicates of certain items that you own. "I have two sets of makeup, hairbrushes, rollers, etc.,"says Sprayberry. "One goes in the suitcase and one is at home."

If you are working at a tradeshow or making a presentation, bring a small suitcase with wheels. Use it to carry all the items you will be giving out and using to present. It will be very convenient for transport. Many have small pockets that are ideal for storing office supplies.

Several women recommended a first aid/medicine chest bag filled with painkillers, antacid, anti-diarrhea medicine, bandages, antiseptic cream, hand cream, vitamins, herbal sleep remedies (especially good for jet lag), and other items that you may need. When you return home, refill what you used.

Living in a Hotel
"It's a different ballgame to live in a hotel for months on end,"says Therese Francis, owner of Crossquarter Breeze, a publishing company.Francis works as a consultant to the Federal Drug Administration and has spent as much as four and a half months staying in a hotel in Washington, D.C. Although it's tempting to be reclusive in an unfamiliar city, she's learned to use her time off to take a look around.

She was on the road so much that she developed LunaHealth Essential Kit, a package of essential oils that are useful for frequent travelers. It has made traveling a lot easier on her as well as more enjoyable and productive.

So, whether you're off for a weekend or for months on end, taking these simple preparations and precautions can keep you safe and sane.

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