SELF-BOOK:
Get an accommodation via Booking.com
Go west, young man or woman: Stay at Montana’s
RECOMMENDED PRO GUIDES
Order physical book guides via preferred Bookshop.org- Marinarena By The Bay
or shop at your local independent bookstore.
GENERAL TRAVEL
Dorling Kindersley (DK) Travel Guides – Marinarena’s go-to physical travel guide book with beautiful color photos, handy regional maps. Great for local travel discovery.
Frommer’s Guide -Very practical guide like DK, a strong local travel perspective. BIG kudos to Arthur and Pauline Frommer for their thorough advice
TRAVEL INFLUENCERS & GUIDES
Samantha Brown -Love Samantha! She’s a travel guru without the travel host ego. Go to for very practical tips, especially for family and solo travel with a strong female perspective. Check out her Places to Love series.
Peter Greenberg -He is a travel veteran keen on a variety of travel topics. Notably Marinarena appreciates his passions for and exterprise in aviation, travel technology and island travel. Follow his Eye on Travel series.
TIPS
Pack a pen and notepad.
Pack lightweight, light colored clothing.
Wear a RFID holder to protect your credit cards.
Roll clothes to save space in luggage. It’s amazing how much you can get into a basic carry-on!
Try to bring only 1 roll-on suitcase and one carry-on item, for domestic and international flights. I know, I know… this is hard to do, especially for we who tend to shove a whole wardrobe and incidentals in a few luggage pieces. Honestly, travelers only need 1 or 2 travel pieces for an average trip.
Don’t forget to pack sanitizer and sunscreen.
Water is Everything!
Carry a durable water bottle. Stay hydrated always- and especially when traveling. Fill the bottle with water after arrive at the terminal. Nalgene bottles are highly recommendable.
Air Advice
Book Marinarena’s preferred U.S. based air carriers Southwest Airlines and Alaska Air when you can. Consistently they are highest rated in overall guest service, friendliness and amenities compared to the major legacy airlines. SW has a special Texan hospitality. Alaska similarly offers warm, pro-guest service.
More Air Tips
Also try to book small carriers when possible, such as Jet Blue, Avelo and JSX. Generally, these offer better, smoother service due to lesser stress small airport usage.
Jet Blue: US Domestic, Puerto Rico and UK
Avelo: great for Western U.S. travel (SoCal, Wine country destinations (Santa Rosa, CA, Oregon) and Montana/Yellowstone
JSX: great for California-California trips
(LAX, San Diego, Bay area);
California-Nevada; Nevada-Texas;
California-Texas (Dallas-DAL, Houston-HOU);
Texas-Florida (Destin, FL)
MarinArena 