Traveling is exciting but can also pose many challenges. This is especially true for those traveling into a different hemisphere. Keep these tips in mind if you plan on traveling between hemispheres for your next vacation.

Daylight and Nighttime Hours

As you travel closer to the north and south poles, the ratio of daytime to nighttime hours becomes more drastic. Due to the tilt of the planet and its position in relation to the sun, the polar ends of the planet either receive an abundant amount of daylight hours with very little nighttime hours and vice versa. The time of year you visit certain countries will determine which extreme you will encounter. There are websites that allow you to enter the country and city to which you’ll be traveling so that you can see when the sun rises and sets and how many daylight and nighttime hours you have for work and leisure. It’ll also be wise to set alarms on your smartphone to alert you of designated mealtimes so that you don’t accidentally miss a meal due to restaurants and stores being closed.

Check The Weather

Checking the weather of your travel destination is a common tip given to novice travelers. This is to help you know what type of clothes to pack. This tip should be heeded even more fervently when you travel to another hemisphere. The way hemispheres work is that they experience opposite seasons. When it’s winter in the northern hemisphere, it’s summer in the southern hemisphere. This sort of extreme seasonal difference can really mess up your travels if you pack clothes and gear for the season in your own hemisphere. A quick search online can help you determine the current season in the hemisphere of your travels and the effect it has on the local weather.

Time and Date Differences

There is an invisible line that separates the western and eastern hemispheres which denotes the beginning of the next day. When you travel over this International Date Line, you automatically exist in the next or previous day, depending on which hemisphere you depart from. It is important for you to keep this line in mind when reading your travel tickets and purchasing hotel reservations. You may not purchase enough days at the hotel to cover your entire visit or even miss your flight.

Passionate travelers do not let financial constraints squash their dreams of wanderlust. It is easier than ever to plan extravagant trips on a shoestring budget. Here are six of the most practical ways to travel without breaking the bank:

HARNESS THE POWER OF POINTS: Savvy travelers understand the great benefit of learning how to work the points system to their advantage to gain valuable travel rewards. Experts recommend finding a credit card that pays out in generous hotel and airline miles and then using that card for all possible expenses. Paying attention to sign-up bonuses can also help you to rack up the points more quickly.

FLY THE FRIENDLY SKIES WITH A BUDGET AIRLINE: As long as your personal tastes do not require a first-class flying experience, choosing a budget airline is a great way to stretch your travel dollar. By being mindful of the extra costs associated with budget airlines and taking care to avoid them, this can be a huge money saver.

BE FLEXIBLE: By committing to be flexible in your travel schedules, you will undoubtedly open up a world of additional inexpensive vacation options. Traveling off-season or taking flights during the less desired times can protect your budget and leave more room for fun expenses. Being open to flying out of an airport farther than your ideal location can also potentially save a lot of money.

HIT THE ROAD: Especially when traveling as a family, a road trip can be a lot more economical than flying. Looking into a gas rewards credit card is another way that you can save big when traveling by car. As a bonus, the bonding that happens during a road trip cannot be replicated by any other type of travel experience.

LEVERAGE THE DOLLAR: The current strength of the U.S. dollar compared to other currencies makes this an ideal time to travel abroad. Even going somewhere as close as Mexico or Canada can yield big savings when your money is converted to foreign currencies.

AVOID UNNECESSARY FEES: Do your research and plan ahead so that you avoid unnecessary costs such as ATM service charges and cell phone roaming fees. There are numerous services and products designed to eliminate these fees.