Airport, train and bus terminals are the most ideal locations in popular cities for petty crime. The astute criminals know that visitors enter or depart these places totally distracted by unfamiliarity, often not knowing what to do next.

It is at this moment the traveller is most vulnerable. As victims of petty crime in a major terminal we have formulated the following strategy.

The first priority for departures is get there early. Second priority, get a luggage trolley. Pile all the luggage in a tower that is always in front of you.  If with a partner, one person looks after luggage, the other checks out departure boards.

On your arrival, the reverse is applicable. With airports, know the carousel number before you alight the plane and get hold of a trolley. If your luggage is not easy to recognise, remember to apply labels or colourful ribbon around the handle.

Chas Becket, Paynesville, VIC

OFF THE AIR

Travelling independently can sometimes be stressful, especially when trying to navigate  around foreign cities. We discovered the application MAPS.ME on a recent trip overseas. It is a free off-line map with turn-by-turn navigation. After the initial download, you then add the countries you are going to visit (you can do this along the way but it's best to do  it in a free Wi-Fi zone to save data).

It can be fun to get lost, but sometimes it is invaluable to know where you are especially in a Moroccan souk or the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Highly recommended!

Jacqueline Wilkes, Dolphin Point, NSW

GET THE MESSAGE

I recently visited Cuenca in the Castile-La Mancha​ area of Spain, famous for its Hanging Houses (like many tourist sites in Spain, it is closed on Mondays). This graffiti, for your non-Spanish readers, translates to "art is not always in museums".

So while travelling, appreciate, absorb, discover and indulge yourself in the expansive and awe-inspiring ingenuity of your surroundings.

Mark Iacono, Kew, VIC 

HAM IT UP

The best travel discovery I've made this year is Trip Advisor's restaurant reviews. I went to the most sublime restaurant near Montserrat in Spain.

It is family-owned and run and we had a simple meal of jamon iberico, seafood and mushroom paella, and broad bean salad. Talk about died and gone to heaven. The name of the restaurant is Cal Tallon, Olesa de Montserrat.

Denise Hunter, North Sydney, NSW

SITE FOR SORE EYES

Be wary when booking accommodation through one of the many best-price accommodation websites like Trivago. I needed to travel from northern NSW to Sydney for a week and used Trivago to search for an accommodation deal.

Having found a good price on a CBD hotel, I clicked on the link to go to the website for the applicable accommodation vendor. It wasn't until later that I realised that I had been charged an additional $50.45 on my credit card.

It seems the vendor was located in Europe and so I was charged an International Transaction Fee by my bank.

So when using Trivago and the like, some deals may not be as good as they seem.

Check whether or not the accommodation vendor is local or determine whether you may be subject to international transaction fees on top of your accommodation.

Drew Hayes, Coffs Harbour, NSW

ROMAN HOLIDAY

Usually I fly in and out of Rome's Fiumicino airport  through Terminal 3 but recently had occasion to use Terminal 1. The security process was exceptionally efficient.

They have replaced the normal single file queue where you wait while each person ahead empties pocket, takes off shoes, searches for the laptop and phone, and eventually puts their stuff in a plastic tub and onto the moving conveyor.

Instead, four people stand alongside each other, fill their tub and then reach over to the moving belt and send it on its way. If someone is a bit slower they do not hold up everyone.

A simple design change that would work wonders everywhere.

Brian Lucas, Bundanoon, NSW