Traveling can be tricky, with all the hassle, staying away from home and out of the comfort zone. We need to be extra careful and on our toes, while managing to enjoy the trip. So after some mindful research, here are the ultimate travel hacks and tips to follow, that are sure to make your traveling less burdensome and more fun.
While Flying:
- Take window seats because they give you a place to lean head and sleep and great view.
- Keep Ambien handy (game changer for international flights, makes you sleep)
- Emergency exit row seats: while they offer more leg room, they are slightly narrower and often have thinner cushion. (bad for your butt and tailbone on long flights)
- If you're tall, take your shoes off to get more leg room.
- Wear layers, prefer hoodies because they keep you warm and help drown out noise and light
- Eye blinds and ear plugs: best companions during the flight. Always keep them handy.
- Get a nice pillow.
- Use airline's mobile app to optimize seat selection last minute.
- Invest in a nice headset.
- If the plane seems fairly empty, avoid emergency exit seats. Choose a middle seat in an empty row (people will often choose other seats to avoid sitting next to you)
- Shower whenever possible.
- Get access to lounges, enhance your travel experience.
- Have a belt and a pair of shoes that don't set off the metal detectors
- When possible, check-in before you arrive to airport
- Arrive before time ( "if you don't miss one flight per year your spending too much time in the airport" - not true)
- Keep your passport and ticket in the front pocket of shirt for easy access.
- Keep your toothbrush and floss in an accessible location (you'd know why once you start practising)
- Keep aspirin or tylenol in your travel bag.
- Roll your clothes don't fold them, I repeat ROLL them.
- Keep a spare phone charger in your travel bag.
- Cargo shorts, contact lenses, bandanas: your friends.
- Pack fast.
- Travel light, you can always buy stuff on the go.
- Buy sim cards if traveling for more than a couple of days, keep an unlocked iPhone.
- Change your sim card before landing.
- Have a second passport.
- Apply for visas well in advance.
- Go for a longer layover in a stopover city, exit the airport for a few hours, enjoy that city.
- Learn about the country you're traveling to, and it's social norms, beforehand.
- Memorize your passport number by heart.
- When looking for deals, be flexible with airports and travel dates.
- If you're really on a budget, buy someone's frequent flyer miles - let them buy the ticket for you and pay them through paypal
- Use Airbnb unabashedly to find cheap rates on apartments, condos, rooms for rent.
- Buy airfare ahead of time, plan your trip beforehand.
While traveling:
- Talk to the locals as much as possible, they can tell you about the place way more than the best travel site.
- Eat local food, eat a lot of it.
- Enjoy local transport, while you are still in that town. It's a lot of fun, and a money saver too.
- Use less of your phone and camera.
- Use Foursquare to track all the places that you've been to.
Bonus: Frequent Flyer
- Pick an airline if you are flying 25-50k miles in a year.
- Status perks: lounges, cut security and boarding lines, bonus miles, better seat selection, faster phone service, receive checked bags faster.
- Make sure your miles never expire, and keep an eye on them.
Now, remember you're going to see some amazing places and have incredible experiences, but the company you enjoy these things with, is essentially what makes your traveling memorable and pleasant. Always travel in good company, your best friend, your life partner, your mom, or even in solitude.
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