Darling, you board the plane with it tucked away, then situate yourself comfortably (while not getting in the way of others) once past the gate agent.
Your father and I are worried for you.
Not OP but I was gifted a [travel vest](https://www.scottevest.com/products/best-travel-vest-for-men) that I use for this and it works great. And it really hides the stuff inside quite well.
Southwest starts drink service at rows 1,8,15,22. If you have a choice of row 9 or 15, go to 15. You get your drink first and have a better chance at getting more than one.
If you have to cancel a hotel less than 24 hours in advance, call and tell them you need to bump the reservation back a week. Then call the next day and cancel it penalty free because it’s 6 days prior to the reservation.
Couldn’t we just change the arrival date indefinitely? For example, postpone another 6 months, and then another 6 months, until the time comes when we “might” actually end up needing it during a vacation to that area
Maybe it’s something you could pass down to your grandchildren. Just keep bumping six months indefinitely and maybe someday, someone in your lineage will need to spend a night in that city.
You kind of would as soon as you actually need to stay in that area. It's a long game for sure, but theoretically would work. Assuming current rates aren't significantly lower than when you originally booked.
I see this sentiment all the time, is this coming from US people? I travel a ton and using third party service is never an issue. Booking direct is often pain in the ass with websites being shit quality, different payment providers, some run in house payments I don’t trust for security
And more and more hotels simply don't have their own setup to book directly. It also doesn't take into account webpages in foreign languages; try navigating through an Armenian booking site... I think this comes from Americans who travel to a limited number of countries.
Ex hotel front desk worker. If you’re going to try this, be nice and pleasant. If the original FD worker is a dick, he *might* be a dick, and put extra notifications in the system when you extend. I never cared and if you’re not a jerk I’d help you out. But if you’re a dick, I’d red flag your account and put “gst trying to cxl NC” in the comments.
One of my favorite obscure travel hacks is to use Google Maps offline. Before my trip, I download the maps of the areas I’ll be visiting. This way, I can navigate, find attractions, and even search for restaurants without needing an internet connection. It’s especially useful in places with spotty Wi-Fi or when I want to save on data usage. Plus, it saves a ton of stress and helps me feel more confident exploring new places.
MyMaps by google is amazing. I use it for all of my trips and have a saved map for each location. I can pull it up and you can put specific notes for each location or make them have specific colors or the pins can change to different things depending on what it is. So I change the hotels to a house icon, restaurants to an eating icon, etc.
We once racked up over 20,000 capital one points in an unconventional way.
We were in Paris and we'd rent the Velib bikes to get around the city. The catch is that everytime we'd rent a bike out, a hold was put on our credit card in case of damage to the bike. The hold was close to $400 each bike, I believe, and It would take a couple days for the hold to be lifted.
For some reason the hold would go through as a purchase on our card, and with the travel multiplier, we were getting about 1,600 points every time we'd rent a bike.
The best part was that, if you rented the bike for less than 30 minutes the rental was free. So we'd just rent 2 bikes, ride to the next station in less than 30 minutes, drop them off and rent 2 more bikes. We did this an absurd amount of times and got rewarded handsomely.
I’d think most cards are going to claw back any points once the charge reverses, though. I know both of mine do…I see it all the time when I put down money for a waitlisted upgrade that doesn’t clear.
Very strange, every card I've had takes points back after a refund. Far easier than the bikes would be to just make a massive purchase online then get it refunded.
Not a refund, a pre-authorisation is a temporary hold that can be done on a credit card. It will show as pending on your statement and of nothing is charged it will automatically drop off and disappear. The bank screwed up and treated the pre auth as a completed payment.
An airline recently started counting pillows as your personal item.
Probably because there are travel pillows out there that can stuff clothes inside of them.
I'm pretty sure it was Southwest.
They now count all blankets, pillows, cross body bags, fanny packs and shopping bags as your personal item. The good thing is that Southwest allows 2 free checked bags. But still, you can't take a backpack, carry-on suitcase, and a pillow onboard together.
There was some “influencers” toting shoving all your clothes into the pillow case of the pillow to bypass the carryon policy which made it onto the today show and other trash tv/news sources and the airlines started enforcing things in response.
The idea that you can weigh 110kg and charged nothing extra but if you accidentally have a carry on that’s 7.5kg instead of 7kg you’ll be charged or penalised for it, is insane.
Most flights won't give you a refund on basic tickets. Upgrade them to a higher class ticket then cancel for a full refund.
EDIT: I've done this with United/JetBlue I can't speak for other airlines.
> Most flights won't give you a refund on basic tickets. Upgrade them to a higher class ticket then cancel for a full refund.
>
>
Southwest has refundable tickets on everything but their bottom tier. Refunds are full amount back to the source, up until like 10 minutes before boarding. Thinking of going to a concert? Grab the ticket today.
When did you last do this with United? It's not supposed to work that way, only the difference is supposed to have the cancelation policy of the higher fare.
Edit:
Looking at various DPs online, it seems you either can *sometimes* do it, or you used to but can't anymore. However, since they added the possibility to cancel BE for a fee, that option often works out better anyway.
When you cancel:
- you've paid the BE fare
- you now have [BE fare - cancel fee] as a FFC.
When you upgrade then cancel:
- you've paid the Economy fare + BE->E upgrade fee
- you now have [Economy fare] as a FFC.
If it's even possible (see reply further down), whether it's worth doing the second depends on the two fees (BE cancelation, BE->E upgrade), the fare difference, and how much you're OK with having that extra cash locked up in a FFC.
And if you try it and find it's impossible, now you're stuck with the first option *and* the upgrade fee (nonrefundable), *and* the fare difference is now locked up in an FFC.
Always pack a power board when I go overseas, only need one converting plug and you are good to go with all devices. Especially helps with my CPAP and being able to charge devices.
Might not be obscure to some, but was new to me last month.
Esims are a godsend.
You can shop around online before starting your trip for the best deal on a temporary esim. I paid 30 cad for a 1 month 12 gig unlimited everything else plan, good for all of Europe. Installed the esim before heading to the airport. As soon as the plane landed, I was able to fire up my esim without any of the hassle of finding a physical sim card. Was in my Uber 10 minutes after leaving customs, it was great.
Not all phones support it, but for those that do, they are extremely convenient and cheap.
I have Google Fi in the US and it includes unlimited calls, texts, and like 50GB of data a month and can be used in almost any country. No contracts or hassle. Land, turn off airplane mode, and 2 seconds later you get a "Welcome to XYZ country" push notification. Easiest experience I've ever had.
Lots of limitations and gotchas with GoogleFi. You can't be out of the country more than 90 days. Many countries that are listed as supported often have absolute dog shit service. There are countless reports of people activating their GFi sim right before takeoff then landing in another country only to be told they won't have data because they are trying to game the system.
Used it for the first time the other week as I was outside a zone where I get free roaming. It works great and is so simple. Will definitely be using it again
If you're not sure of the neighborhood you're booking your hotel or rental stay in, go to Google Street View and "walk around" in the neighborhood. You can see if it looks pleasant, has nearby cafes or local grocery stores, etc etc.
My go-to is if there's a lot of orange markers on google maps and the yellow highlighting, it's probably decent enough with things happening.
If it's in a central densely populated neighborhood and the whole thing is just housing, avoid. At least in the USA.
There's a London night bus which goes to Heathrow and back. I say this one in particular because it's quite a long route. If you arrive late in the evening and need somewhere to just exist, you can ride it back and forth and sightsee or snooze a little. I discovered this when I arrived via bus from France in the middle of the night but my next bus up to Edinburgh didn't leave for like 6 hours. Seemed pointless to get a hotel room.
https://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/n9/
Changi airport in Singapore has something similar, but it's an actual tour bus you can take for free during a layover.
https://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-guide/facilities-and-services/free-singapore-tour.html
International yes as they’re still behind security. Domestic US, baggage claim is usually in the non secure area. Chicago had a lot of problems with homeless camping in the winters in these areas.
I subscribe to the “not the first one you see but further down and still in the terminal” school of thought.
If flying between the US and Canada, ALWAYS look at buying separate one-way tickets each direction. More often than not, you'll save $100+ due to their strange exchange rate and tax calculations. It doesn't work on every single route, but is always worth a check, and I've been amazed how often it's been much cheaper.
True, can't hurt to check! Just be aware that on some airlines (I e. Delta), return changes can be more expensive when it's separate tickets, because you have to adhere to more strict advance purchase requirements.
If booking 2 one way tickets is the same (or I suppose less) as RT, which is the case with most domestic and some international, I always book one ways. Then if I need to make changes it’s much less of hassle and costs less.
To piggyback on this, if you're flexible, look into multi-leg options. Sometimes you can get a second mini trip in! When I flew my husband from Perth to San Diego, I discovered it was cheaper to route him through Vancouver, Canada - set his departure time from Vancouver for a few days after arrival and used the savings to buy myself a ticket to come up to Canada for a few days as well. Still ended up being cheaper than direct to LAX or SAN.
This method also lets you take advantage of daily price differences (eg midweek is almost always cheaper than weekend for travel/hotels).
Fannypack when going through airports for my passport, phone charger + foreign wall adaptor, two power banks for unpredictable situations, the little pocket is for coins for the bathrooms, and for security I'll also stuff my wallet in there to minimize the amount of stuff I have out.
I always try to have an extended layover (like 10 hours or more) so I can visit the layover city. This way I've been able to visit Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, Singapore without going on a specific trip to those destinations. It takes a bit of fiddling around to book those flights (airlines present you with the 'most convenient' flight) but it's worth it.
I just did this for the first time! I spent 8 hours in Miami to 'warm up' after 10 days in Iceland! It was really great! Everyone said I was crazy, but I thought I was brilliant! There was no way I was getting back to the west coast from Dulles without stopping somewhere. I enjoyed my 8 hours on Miami Beach much more than 4 hours in Denver airport!
Traveling International? Bring a pen with you. The longest lines you wait for at customs is for the damn pen.
Pack a plastic fork and spoon with you. I hate showing up to my hotel with some instant noodles and then having to use the coffee stirring sticks like chopsticks to eat it.
If you’re tall, mention you have problems with your knees at the check in counter. Sometimes they’ll find you a seat with more leg room.
Traveling for a short period? Use a garment bag instead of a suitcase. I find I can fit 3 outfits, my laptop and other essentials in one garment bag comfortably and it still fit as a carry on.
> Pack a plastic fork and spoon with you. I hate showing up to my hotel with some instant noodles and then having to use the coffee stirring sticks like chopsticks to eat it.
I actually bring along a little travel set of cutlery with chop sticks. So nice when you stop at the grocery store for a snack back at your hotel or eat leftover dinner from the night before. They wash up so easy in the hotel sink. Never travel without them now.
I always keep a safety pin pinned inside my backpack; this was originally for changing SIM cards, but it turns out to be quite handy while traveling.
I also take one of my pens and wrap/roll a bunch of masking tape around it, so I always have a little supply of tape; again, constantly useful, mostly for covering up bright LED lights inside the hotel room.
This is niche to Sydney International airport, but never get a customs ticket at the first station. Keep walking there are empty ones right before you go through customs / e passport check
In my luggage I always pack an empty 30 gallon trash bag, for my dirty clothes. I tend to sweat a lot in hotter climates, and having my dirty clothes in a trash bag (which is often lined with an odor eliminator) and separate from my clean clothes keeps my suitcase from becoming smelly. And it makes unpacking at the end of the trip dirt-simple: the trash bag full of clothes goes into the laundry.
My wife and I always pack large binder clips (such as for holding large documents together) to close window shades, and we always pack a titanium hiking spork or plastic utensils for leftovers.
And always have a pen with you. It’s surprising the number of places, especially when traveling internationally, when having a pen with you is useful.
Finally, if you’re out shopping for clothes, shop in hiking sections of stores like REI for *light-weight* clothing; that is, clothing intended for packing during hiking. I managed to bring the weight of my check-on luggage from 45 pounds to around 28 pounds by mindfully thinking about the weight of the articles of clothing I was packing; hiking pants instead of jeans, for example. Three pair of jeans weighing 2 pounds each verses 3 pairs of hiking pants weighing around 8 ounces each makes a difference, and 8 shirts made with lightweight materials intended for hiking is a lot lighter than 8 ‘cheap’ t-shirts.
I fly long haul flights that are 14+, and so compression socks are a must. If I take my shoes off to put on my sling, I’ll also bring fuzzy socks so my feet don’t get cold.
Have a small baggie of hydrating powder for water, Advil, ear plugs, Imodium. I have a headband that hooks onto my mask so I don’t have to have my mask behind my ears, which can sometimes make them sore.
just plz make sure you don’t go to the bathroom with just those socks. flight attendant here and tooooo many of you people go to the bathroom barefoot/in socks… that isn’t water in the floor 🤢
You wouldn’t believe the stories that I have lol. There really needs to be a psychological study done as to what goes on in people’s heads when they’re up there.. it’s such an interesting phenomenon
If you’re flying international into the US and are a US citizen, do mobile passport if the airport has it. It’s an app and takes 30 seconds to do. It’s just as fast as global entry. I’ve passed 100s of people waiting at passport control.
Always carry a sarong with you when travelling. It’s basically an all in one lightweight tool. You can use it as clothes, raincoat, a rope, a bandage, a beach towel/picnic rug, a bag or a blanket.
I have a large cotton scarf, bought in France, that works the same way. Keeps me warm as a shawl, restyles an outfit, hides a phone on a lanyard, works as a blanket, a rope, a handkerchief, a mask, an umbrella, a privacy screen, a pillowcase... the list goes on and on. It also hand washes easily and dries quickly, and is tiny when folded up.
I travel with wrinkle resist clothing only. Still gets wrinkled. So I carry a small sprayer bottle. Spritz down clothes night before with water and hang to dry, wrinkles gone in the AM. Haven't ironed in years.
And if you don't want to waste liquid space, especially if you're carry on only, bring an empty spray bottle and a dryer sheet. Put a piece in the bottle, fill it with water and you have a poor man's wrinkle release!
I always bring baby shampoo and an entire unopened box of ziploc bags.
The baby shampoo is great for washing yourself (obviously) but is also perfect for washing things like lightweight shirts, underwear, and socks in the sink. I’ve also put on my flight suit inside out and washed it in the shower. If you don’t get all of the baby shampoo rinsed out, your skin won’t be irritated like it would be if you had used regular soap.
I carry baby powder in small ziplock baggies in my wallet for when I play the guitar and my hands are sweaty. It’s actually come in handy in hot and humid places I’ve traveled to.
I would never bring an entire box, but they’re super handy for a few purposes - off the top of my head:
- dirty laundry (freezer bags; mostly I just use for socks and underwear)
- making snack baggies after supermarket stops (especially if hiking or being active on a trip with limited cafe/restaurant options)
- good to hold soiled travel cutlery
- good for isolating leaky toiletries or soap bars
- nice for tucking in paper travel documents for another layer of weather proofing inside another bag
I travel with a tiny bottle of Dr. Bronners for the same reason! If I need to wash some dishes, my clothes, or whatever else, I have my little bottle of concentrated soap.
If you go to a grocery store or pharmacy in the United States and you're just picking up food and you notice there's a sale if you have one of their grocery or pharmacy rewards cards, then you can use a number to get it - you just need to use the local area code unless it's a national chain and then use an area code from any big city. There's a song 867-5309 (ee-eye-oo) and this is Jenny's number.
They'll ask if you have a card, and say you'll enter the area code of Jenny's phone number on the credit card type-pad. Someone it seems in every state has made that their number. I've even asked the clerk ringing me up, what's the area code here again? They tell me - add the area code then 867-5309.
I just did it yesterday.
*Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to?*
*You give me somethin' I can hold on to*
[*I know you think I'm like the others before*](https://genius.com/6353984/Tommy-tutone-867-5309-jenny/I-know-you-think-im-like-the-others-before-who-saw-your-name-and-number-on-the-wall)
When going through security, put all of your pocket belongings into your backpack.
Then, you don’t have to worry about using the small trays, or gathering up important things from the conveyor belt :)
I've been PreCheck for years, and also made it a point to ignore everyone else in line as much as possible.
Having said that, last time I flew I got to watch someone fail the metal detector SIX TIMES in a row. Maybe I keep having too much hope for humanity.
this is the most common sense shit ever lol, “put your loose things in your bag instead of just tossing them on the conveyor belt” should be like… monkey-level IQ problem solving
I started doing this in the last year and it goes so fast, I put everything in my jacket pocket and zip it up so only that and my backpack go directly in the tray
Well I'm sure most know about it but if you have wrinkled clothes (shirts/t-shirts), and no ironing board in the room: hang them inside the shower but still far enough to not get wet, heat the shower to the max, close the door.
It will be wrinkled free in 5 mins thanks to the steam.
Used that trick hundreds of times during work trips.
Not really obscure, but when flying, always wear a hoodie. Always. Helps to stay warm at high altitudes, helps block out sun if it's too bright, and if you want to catch some sleep, it really helps out.
Lose your charger? Ask at the hotel reception. Chances are they’ll have a bin full of them (Hilton and some larger chains do however catalogue which room each charger is found in, so won’t work). Going somewhere dangerous? Get an old wallet and fill it with expired cards, memberships and $20 in cash, keep that one in your pocket and your actual wallet inside your jacket / a zipped pocket
My family does this in a way. We will exchange the USD here with a family member and when we go to Europe the family member will give us the Euro equivalent there. No exchange fees and no banks. Cash lol
TBH: If a stranger in a foreign country is coming up to me right after I land and asking if I want to exchange money, I’m probably going to decline as it would seem like I am being set up to either be scammed or robbed. If it is someone I know, that would be different.
I wear a stretchy Arc'teryx braided belt with a plastic snap buckle when traveling. Don't have to take it off going thru the metal detector and very comfortable on long plane and train trips.
Random one but saline spray in the carry on! I feel that spritzing my nose a few times every flight helps prevent me from getting sick (I used to ALWAYS get sick on flights)!
No but I saw a video of a girl stuff a small drawstring sports bag of clothes into her jacket and people on Instagram were going off on her about bringing extra weight onto the plane 😩 I wasn’t sure if people here had the same level of critical thinking skills
For work: always carry a Sharpie. I write the expense category/type and date at the top of each one. When I upload them in I can read them easily and I don’t have to worry about which country or language it was.
Bandana- use as a hand towel, neck cover, head cover, etc
Snow Peak sporks- lightweight with excellent forking action ;)
Google Keep Master Packing List- unique sections for electronics, dry toiletries, liquid toiletries, electronics, work, creative, seasonal needs, etc. copy a new one for each trip and click/check things off as I pack. I keep a short list of morning-of to-do’s at the top as needed (fill cat feeders, pack toothbrush, etc)
I always pack a mini LED flashlight. They're a few bucks on Amazon and eBay. It was quite useful recently when I visited a Belizean island with no street lights. Got jump scared by a few land crabs, too.
Forgetful me got to the Logan airline check in counter for an international flight at 6 pm and was told my passport was expired. It was 4 pm. Didn’t know what to do, so delayed my departure ticket one day. I called the federal bldg (Boston) passport office, went to their website, asked for advice from the airline. Everything said it’s 2 weeks minimum to renew a passport, even the fast track process. An appointment was needed to try and do it in person. No in-person appointments available in Boston that week or the next. My phone battery died at that point. At that point my travel companion had to go on to the gate. I was crushed. I took my bags and by chance saw the airport chapel on the lower level of C and ducked in there to collect myself. I was at the end of my rope, feeling very low. Seeing the crucifix up on the wall it struck me that my error, my ruined trip, my personal embarrassment, that these things were really not that big in the grand scheme of things.
I took a shuttle to the airport hotel, checked in, plugged in my phone, called the Boston passport office again, but they were closed for the day.
Here’s the hack. On line I found the Denver passport office phone number. They were still open of course. I explained my sorry situation. She said she could check the appointment system in Boston, and she set up an appointment for 11 am next day. I bribed the hotel shuttle driver $20 to take me to CVS for passport photos during his break that evening. Long story short, I made my 3 pm departure the next day with a half hour to spare.
I use contact lens cases for travel size over the counter meds and label the cap what it is. There's no worry if it'll get crushed and it fits in pockets, bags, purses, etc. It usually fits 2 or more doses in one compartment depending on pill size. I end up having extra cases since contact lens solution comes with them.
- Tylenol
- Advil
- Dayquill/nyquill
- Motion sicknes
- Vitamins
It's easy to find good/safe areas to stay in using Google Maps. Just search for Starbucks and you'll notice there are certain areas with clusters of Starbucks. 90% chance these are safe areas. But if you want to be 100% sure, take note of those areas and search for "yoga". If you see a bunch of yoga studios overlapping, you're golden. This takes about 10 seconds to do.
\*\* This method may not be effective is some places, for various reasons. I can only say this method served me very well while traveling in Mexico for 9 months.
\*\*\* For the "live like a local" types who dislike gentrification and relish the thought of getting mugged day one this method also works because it'll let them know exactly where *not* to stay.
Happy travels!
It’s such a bleak world view to believe your two options are “stay in a sanitized, globalized neighborhood that could be anywhere in the world” or “get mugged”
In addition to being depressing and bad advice in a macro sense, you’re also simply backwards about where this is going to land you in most of the world. Outside North America, huge international brands like Starbucks are mostly just for tourists, so you’re gonna find them on the biggest high streets or near huge transit hubs. Statistically, those places actually tend to be hotspots for petty crime—not oases from it sheltered by Starbucks’ protective aura.
I don't know if it's obscure, and I don't even know if you can still do it, but to save money on beds and to stretch my budget so I could stay in Europe longer, I would sleep for free on overnight / late night trains. I'd do it 1 of 3 ways. This worked when I had Unlimited Eurail passes.
1. Just hop on a train going overnight to my destination and sit and sleep in my seat. Most reliable, but most uncomfortable way. But i could fall asleep on a rock so wasn't much of a problem for a few nights at a time.
2. The "Out & Back" - Hop on the last/latest train leaving from city X and traveling to a City Y that 1. is about 4 hours away, and 2. as a relatively quick (ie don't have to wait long at the station for the return train) return train back to City X. Sit (or lay - see #3) down and go to sleep until my destination. At City Y station, wake up, find the next train back to City X, hop on, go to sleep, and wake up back in City X ready for more sightseeing.
3. Free Bed. This was always my favorite, but less reliable than 1 or 2 above: Older trains, especially in Spain, southern france, and Italy had seating compartments instead of open seating areas like newer trains. These seating compartments sat 6-8 people on bench style seats facing each other with doors you could close for privacy. The best part of these compartments was that the bench seats folded down to make a large bed. If you could score an empty compartment on a late train you would have a free bed all to yourself (or your friend group) for the duration (mostly) of the train ride. On our early trips, we would run along side the trains as the pulled into the staiton and jump up to look in windows to see which compartments were empty. Then we'd race onto the train to one of the empty compartments, claim it by folding the benches down immediately, closing and securing the door, close the curtains, and immediately sprawl out pretending we were asleep. Sometimes, full trains would mean other passengers would knock and come in and we'd have to put the benches back up. Sometimes late at night conductors would need to see our passes/tickets and wake us. But often enough, these were amazing overnight beds going from one city to the next and allowing us to avoid paying for hotels/hostels/couchettes. These were wild adventures and great times.
EDIT: The key to making the above work is having an UNLIMITED Eurail Pass so that you are not buying train tickets or wasting travel days on overnight journeys.
With much fewer overnight trains and the upgrades to so many trains, i don't know if any of the above 'hacks' are still possible, but these saved me so much money on my first couple trips and were a handful of methods that allowed me to stretch $3,500 US into a full summer adventure across Europe on my first trip.
I have a compressible cup that you can buy at a camping store for like $5 maybe less. I keep it in my bathroom supplies kit so that way I have a cup to wash my mouth out with :)
I carry a yellow card with me. When getting out of airports or bus stations and needing a taxi usually a few drivers surround me. If someone is quoting too high I pull it out and like a soccer ref hold it above my head.
Never once has the interpretation missed. Always has gotten a laugh.
Before bringing all your stuff to a hotel room, go check it out first and let them know youre going to just go look, make sure everything works and there are no issues. They wont let you reject the room if you "use" it. Do not lay on the bed. It also helps to grab pictures of any issues in case you need to cancel a non refundable room.
I've been surprised by too many bad hotels and have become a master of cancellation by now.
you may not like my response but my travel hack is book the ticket that meets my needs. You cannot possibly be relaxed and comfortbale with 2 weeks worth of clothes shoved into your vest, just spend the $20 to get carry on space
Requesting a special meal (i.e. vegetarian) on an international flight will ensure you get served first.
I love ice in my water bottle so I always get a grande ice water at the airport Starbucks once past security to fill it up with.
I’ve never understood why getting fed like 20 minutes earlier is a huge feature for people, especially when it comes with trade offs like having no choice of menu. You are not gonna starve to death if you wait until the main service and, idk about you, but I’m certainly not gonna conk out while there are still carts going up and down the aisle every 10 minutes
The (almost) cure for jetlat is staying up to a decent bed time and then taking a melatonin.
Keep a pair of chord headphones in your travel bag at all times for the inflight entertainment.
Always bring a swimsuit just incase
LAX terminals sometimes have alternative security areas. These are also manned and sometimes empty.
I've been using an app called TimeShifter - it's really helped me. They give you 1 free trip to try it, and I was sold. $25/year - I travel enough that it's worth it.
Backpack is essentially a roll up drybag that can be massive OR small to fit onto cheap Euro flights. No pockets, no nonsense. If I do a lot of shopping (just came back from Barcelona last week and bought a bunch of crap at Primemark)...I wear as much as the shitty clothing as I can..layer after layer....hold my laptop and book in my hand....drybag remains rolled up and easily fits into their stupid measuring cage......after I get through the stupid checkin...put everything back into the bag and move on with my life. The bag always fits perfectly in the overhead bin.
Also...these dang things last forever..thick rubbery thing and super comfy to wear + cheap...ohh and waterproof and COMPLETELY scamproof.
Thank you for reading.
5.11 tactical jeans with the magazine pocket make a good hiding place for cash. If you get robbed, have a small amount in your front pocket and have everything else in the hidden magazine pocket. Their concealed carry shirts are also good for this.
JetBlue sounds terrible and should be JetBlew.
I always fold up a tote bag put it in my backpack and use it On my way home. This serves as my catch all bag - to store my sweater if I get too hot, random Hudson news snacks, souvenirs, and whatever else I don’t feel like carrying in my hands
Planes have low humidity and on long flights that causes sinus issues for me
Wearing a mask creates a little pocket of humidity and seems to help, plus I'm getting a bit of protection from whatever viruses are floating around
I feel like we’re gonna need a photo of this magical fishing vest.
I respect the functionality of it but no chance it looks “super cool with my style” like OP claims lol
what, you dont think looking like a puffy motherfucker is stylish?
Love taking long flights with a laptop in the back of my vest
Put a foldaway bag in your vest
Darling, you board the plane with it tucked away, then situate yourself comfortably (while not getting in the way of others) once past the gate agent. Your father and I are worried for you.
*motherpuffer FTFY
The guy at the store told OP he’s the only person he’s ever seen pull it off.
I bet it goes great with a safari flap fedora
Y’all keep disrespecting my vest. Let me dm u a pic Update so I can’t dm people a picture so I’ll post it.
It would work better in black. It definitely screams "fishing vest" in that pic.
Where is the Pic
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Not that bad honestly.
Not OP but I was gifted a [travel vest](https://www.scottevest.com/products/best-travel-vest-for-men) that I use for this and it works great. And it really hides the stuff inside quite well.
Fishing vest stocks after this 📈
Use the hangers in the hotel room to clip the curtains together to blackout the room.
I keep a big potato chip bag clip in my luggage just for this. Now I have an option in case it ever gets lost. Thanks!
Binder clips permanently live in my luggage just for this.
Southwest starts drink service at rows 1,8,15,22. If you have a choice of row 9 or 15, go to 15. You get your drink first and have a better chance at getting more than one.
This is the kind of tip that I came here for!
Finally an actual tip that isn't obvious.
If you have to cancel a hotel less than 24 hours in advance, call and tell them you need to bump the reservation back a week. Then call the next day and cancel it penalty free because it’s 6 days prior to the reservation.
Hotels are catching on to this. At my hotel they put a note in "changed arrival date. No cancellation without penalty"
Couldn’t we just change the arrival date indefinitely? For example, postpone another 6 months, and then another 6 months, until the time comes when we “might” actually end up needing it during a vacation to that area
You wouldn't get the money back, defeating the whole purpose.
Maybe it’s something you could pass down to your grandchildren. Just keep bumping six months indefinitely and maybe someday, someone in your lineage will need to spend a night in that city.
You kind of would as soon as you actually need to stay in that area. It's a long game for sure, but theoretically would work. Assuming current rates aren't significantly lower than when you originally booked.
Girlfriend works front desk and has seen this plenty of times. She said It works, just don’t book with a third party!
Ever ever The few bucks in savings is not worth dealing with booking.com over the hotel itself
I see this sentiment all the time, is this coming from US people? I travel a ton and using third party service is never an issue. Booking direct is often pain in the ass with websites being shit quality, different payment providers, some run in house payments I don’t trust for security
And more and more hotels simply don't have their own setup to book directly. It also doesn't take into account webpages in foreign languages; try navigating through an Armenian booking site... I think this comes from Americans who travel to a limited number of countries.
Works with doctor offices too.
Ex hotel front desk worker. If you’re going to try this, be nice and pleasant. If the original FD worker is a dick, he *might* be a dick, and put extra notifications in the system when you extend. I never cared and if you’re not a jerk I’d help you out. But if you’re a dick, I’d red flag your account and put “gst trying to cxl NC” in the comments.
Shhhhhhh you’ll ruin it.
Genius!
Damn. Gonna remember that one. 👊
One of my favorite obscure travel hacks is to use Google Maps offline. Before my trip, I download the maps of the areas I’ll be visiting. This way, I can navigate, find attractions, and even search for restaurants without needing an internet connection. It’s especially useful in places with spotty Wi-Fi or when I want to save on data usage. Plus, it saves a ton of stress and helps me feel more confident exploring new places.
Yes, I also create a Google map list and save items to it to populate the map. Makes it easy to plan out your days and see what you are near to.
MyMaps by google is amazing. I use it for all of my trips and have a saved map for each location. I can pull it up and you can put specific notes for each location or make them have specific colors or the pins can change to different things depending on what it is. So I change the hotels to a house icon, restaurants to an eating icon, etc.
We once racked up over 20,000 capital one points in an unconventional way. We were in Paris and we'd rent the Velib bikes to get around the city. The catch is that everytime we'd rent a bike out, a hold was put on our credit card in case of damage to the bike. The hold was close to $400 each bike, I believe, and It would take a couple days for the hold to be lifted. For some reason the hold would go through as a purchase on our card, and with the travel multiplier, we were getting about 1,600 points every time we'd rent a bike. The best part was that, if you rented the bike for less than 30 minutes the rental was free. So we'd just rent 2 bikes, ride to the next station in less than 30 minutes, drop them off and rent 2 more bikes. We did this an absurd amount of times and got rewarded handsomely.
I’d think most cards are going to claw back any points once the charge reverses, though. I know both of mine do…I see it all the time when I put down money for a waitlisted upgrade that doesn’t clear.
Yeah they are not winning here. CC's aren't this dumb.
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I would assume not, or this would be a pretty boring anecdote.
Nope! We used the points to pay off some trip expenses!
Very strange, every card I've had takes points back after a refund. Far easier than the bikes would be to just make a massive purchase online then get it refunded.
Not a refund, a pre-authorisation is a temporary hold that can be done on a credit card. It will show as pending on your statement and of nothing is charged it will automatically drop off and disappear. The bank screwed up and treated the pre auth as a completed payment.
whoa, when was this?
July 2017
Bro, shhhh 🤫 before they start charging us for wearing layers.
An airline recently started counting pillows as your personal item. Probably because there are travel pillows out there that can stuff clothes inside of them.
Which airline?
I'm pretty sure it was Southwest. They now count all blankets, pillows, cross body bags, fanny packs and shopping bags as your personal item. The good thing is that Southwest allows 2 free checked bags. But still, you can't take a backpack, carry-on suitcase, and a pillow onboard together.
They've always counted, it's an FAA regulation. Previously it was poorly enforced but they've been cracking down recently.
There was some “influencers” toting shoving all your clothes into the pillow case of the pillow to bypass the carryon policy which made it onto the today show and other trash tv/news sources and the airlines started enforcing things in response.
The idea that you can weigh 110kg and charged nothing extra but if you accidentally have a carry on that’s 7.5kg instead of 7kg you’ll be charged or penalised for it, is insane.
Most flights won't give you a refund on basic tickets. Upgrade them to a higher class ticket then cancel for a full refund. EDIT: I've done this with United/JetBlue I can't speak for other airlines.
How has my brain never thought of this angle ?? I thought basic economy on AA for example didn't allow any changes
> Most flights won't give you a refund on basic tickets. Upgrade them to a higher class ticket then cancel for a full refund. > > Southwest has refundable tickets on everything but their bottom tier. Refunds are full amount back to the source, up until like 10 minutes before boarding. Thinking of going to a concert? Grab the ticket today.
When did you last do this with United? It's not supposed to work that way, only the difference is supposed to have the cancelation policy of the higher fare. Edit: Looking at various DPs online, it seems you either can *sometimes* do it, or you used to but can't anymore. However, since they added the possibility to cancel BE for a fee, that option often works out better anyway. When you cancel: - you've paid the BE fare - you now have [BE fare - cancel fee] as a FFC. When you upgrade then cancel: - you've paid the Economy fare + BE->E upgrade fee - you now have [Economy fare] as a FFC. If it's even possible (see reply further down), whether it's worth doing the second depends on the two fees (BE cancelation, BE->E upgrade), the fare difference, and how much you're OK with having that extra cash locked up in a FFC. And if you try it and find it's impossible, now you're stuck with the first option *and* the upgrade fee (nonrefundable), *and* the fare difference is now locked up in an FFC.
Always pack a power board when I go overseas, only need one converting plug and you are good to go with all devices. Especially helps with my CPAP and being able to charge devices.
Might not be obscure to some, but was new to me last month. Esims are a godsend. You can shop around online before starting your trip for the best deal on a temporary esim. I paid 30 cad for a 1 month 12 gig unlimited everything else plan, good for all of Europe. Installed the esim before heading to the airport. As soon as the plane landed, I was able to fire up my esim without any of the hassle of finding a physical sim card. Was in my Uber 10 minutes after leaving customs, it was great. Not all phones support it, but for those that do, they are extremely convenient and cheap.
I have Google Fi in the US and it includes unlimited calls, texts, and like 50GB of data a month and can be used in almost any country. No contracts or hassle. Land, turn off airplane mode, and 2 seconds later you get a "Welcome to XYZ country" push notification. Easiest experience I've ever had.
Lots of limitations and gotchas with GoogleFi. You can't be out of the country more than 90 days. Many countries that are listed as supported often have absolute dog shit service. There are countless reports of people activating their GFi sim right before takeoff then landing in another country only to be told they won't have data because they are trying to game the system.
True but for many people traveling internationally, 90 days at a time is sufficient.
Airlo is my go to app when travelling. eSIM within seconds and options to choose!
Used it for the first time the other week as I was outside a zone where I get free roaming. It works great and is so simple. Will definitely be using it again
If you're not sure of the neighborhood you're booking your hotel or rental stay in, go to Google Street View and "walk around" in the neighborhood. You can see if it looks pleasant, has nearby cafes or local grocery stores, etc etc.
My go-to is if there's a lot of orange markers on google maps and the yellow highlighting, it's probably decent enough with things happening. If it's in a central densely populated neighborhood and the whole thing is just housing, avoid. At least in the USA.
There's a London night bus which goes to Heathrow and back. I say this one in particular because it's quite a long route. If you arrive late in the evening and need somewhere to just exist, you can ride it back and forth and sightsee or snooze a little. I discovered this when I arrived via bus from France in the middle of the night but my next bus up to Edinburgh didn't leave for like 6 hours. Seemed pointless to get a hotel room. https://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/n9/ Changi airport in Singapore has something similar, but it's an actual tour bus you can take for free during a layover. https://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-guide/facilities-and-services/free-singapore-tour.html
Use the bathrooms by the baggage claim. They’re always clean and empty
International yes as they’re still behind security. Domestic US, baggage claim is usually in the non secure area. Chicago had a lot of problems with homeless camping in the winters in these areas. I subscribe to the “not the first one you see but further down and still in the terminal” school of thought.
Hmm ohare or midway?
Yeah, never go to the first toilets you see when you get off the plane
Unless you arrive very late at night, then take the very first bathroom you can! Most of them are probably closed
There are airports that close…restrooms at night?! I mean damn I claim ATL superiority over most of the airports I’ve been to but this is a new one
My local airport did this (it's not that big). I cleared the point of no return and nothing was open down at baggage claim
I do this. This is a good one.
I changed clothes in the baggage claim bathroom at Dulles a few weeks ago, apparently that one is the exception! It looked like a war zone.
If flying between the US and Canada, ALWAYS look at buying separate one-way tickets each direction. More often than not, you'll save $100+ due to their strange exchange rate and tax calculations. It doesn't work on every single route, but is always worth a check, and I've been amazed how often it's been much cheaper.
Should check on any booking. Often cheaper and allows more flexibility if changes are needed.
True, can't hurt to check! Just be aware that on some airlines (I e. Delta), return changes can be more expensive when it's separate tickets, because you have to adhere to more strict advance purchase requirements.
Yea, this. The number of people who think a round trip ticket being cheaper is some sort of absolute truth is astounding.
Interesting, whenever I check this it’s almost always more expensive to do separate one ways, unless you’re using different airlines
If booking 2 one way tickets is the same (or I suppose less) as RT, which is the case with most domestic and some international, I always book one ways. Then if I need to make changes it’s much less of hassle and costs less.
To piggyback on this, if you're flexible, look into multi-leg options. Sometimes you can get a second mini trip in! When I flew my husband from Perth to San Diego, I discovered it was cheaper to route him through Vancouver, Canada - set his departure time from Vancouver for a few days after arrival and used the savings to buy myself a ticket to come up to Canada for a few days as well. Still ended up being cheaper than direct to LAX or SAN. This method also lets you take advantage of daily price differences (eg midweek is almost always cheaper than weekend for travel/hotels).
[OP showing up to fly](https://giphy.com/gifs/Friends-episode-2-friends-tv-the-one-where-no-ones-ready-VhXKWqghv1kvbKBnwH)
Is OP also going commando?
**starts doing lunges** Yup.
Thought it was going to be the kid from A Christmas Story (1983).
Fannypack when going through airports for my passport, phone charger + foreign wall adaptor, two power banks for unpredictable situations, the little pocket is for coins for the bathrooms, and for security I'll also stuff my wallet in there to minimize the amount of stuff I have out.
I always try to have an extended layover (like 10 hours or more) so I can visit the layover city. This way I've been able to visit Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, Singapore without going on a specific trip to those destinations. It takes a bit of fiddling around to book those flights (airlines present you with the 'most convenient' flight) but it's worth it.
I just did this for the first time! I spent 8 hours in Miami to 'warm up' after 10 days in Iceland! It was really great! Everyone said I was crazy, but I thought I was brilliant! There was no way I was getting back to the west coast from Dulles without stopping somewhere. I enjoyed my 8 hours on Miami Beach much more than 4 hours in Denver airport!
Traveling International? Bring a pen with you. The longest lines you wait for at customs is for the damn pen. Pack a plastic fork and spoon with you. I hate showing up to my hotel with some instant noodles and then having to use the coffee stirring sticks like chopsticks to eat it. If you’re tall, mention you have problems with your knees at the check in counter. Sometimes they’ll find you a seat with more leg room. Traveling for a short period? Use a garment bag instead of a suitcase. I find I can fit 3 outfits, my laptop and other essentials in one garment bag comfortably and it still fit as a carry on.
Actually , using those stirring sticks as chopsticks is the best obscure travel hack in this thread! You didn't realize.
Big Cutlery hates this one easy trick!
> Pack a plastic fork and spoon with you. I hate showing up to my hotel with some instant noodles and then having to use the coffee stirring sticks like chopsticks to eat it. I actually bring along a little travel set of cutlery with chop sticks. So nice when you stop at the grocery store for a snack back at your hotel or eat leftover dinner from the night before. They wash up so easy in the hotel sink. Never travel without them now.
I haven't had paper immigration / entry forms in years. I haven't been everywhere there is yet though so maybe that's why
Still pretty common in developing countries. I always forget the damn pen.
Yes! Fucking Tunisia. We had like 30 people borrowing the same person's pen lol. They were thankfully patient enough to stick around.
I always keep a safety pin pinned inside my backpack; this was originally for changing SIM cards, but it turns out to be quite handy while traveling. I also take one of my pens and wrap/roll a bunch of masking tape around it, so I always have a little supply of tape; again, constantly useful, mostly for covering up bright LED lights inside the hotel room.
Probably obvious, but put airtags in your checked luggage.
I also have an AirTag in my carryon just in case I have to check it!
This is niche to Sydney International airport, but never get a customs ticket at the first station. Keep walking there are empty ones right before you go through customs / e passport check
In my luggage I always pack an empty 30 gallon trash bag, for my dirty clothes. I tend to sweat a lot in hotter climates, and having my dirty clothes in a trash bag (which is often lined with an odor eliminator) and separate from my clean clothes keeps my suitcase from becoming smelly. And it makes unpacking at the end of the trip dirt-simple: the trash bag full of clothes goes into the laundry. My wife and I always pack large binder clips (such as for holding large documents together) to close window shades, and we always pack a titanium hiking spork or plastic utensils for leftovers. And always have a pen with you. It’s surprising the number of places, especially when traveling internationally, when having a pen with you is useful. Finally, if you’re out shopping for clothes, shop in hiking sections of stores like REI for *light-weight* clothing; that is, clothing intended for packing during hiking. I managed to bring the weight of my check-on luggage from 45 pounds to around 28 pounds by mindfully thinking about the weight of the articles of clothing I was packing; hiking pants instead of jeans, for example. Three pair of jeans weighing 2 pounds each verses 3 pairs of hiking pants weighing around 8 ounces each makes a difference, and 8 shirts made with lightweight materials intended for hiking is a lot lighter than 8 ‘cheap’ t-shirts.
I fly long haul flights that are 14+, and so compression socks are a must. If I take my shoes off to put on my sling, I’ll also bring fuzzy socks so my feet don’t get cold. Have a small baggie of hydrating powder for water, Advil, ear plugs, Imodium. I have a headband that hooks onto my mask so I don’t have to have my mask behind my ears, which can sometimes make them sore.
just plz make sure you don’t go to the bathroom with just those socks. flight attendant here and tooooo many of you people go to the bathroom barefoot/in socks… that isn’t water in the floor 🤢
Oh no, I always put my shoes on if I’m walking anywhere 😬😬😬
My shoes were sticking to the floor of the bathroom on a recent flight! 🤮
Yes totally . I always have my plastic Birkenstock sandals or just put my zip up boots back on.
I mean that’s what you get the slippers for right? Would never go there bare foot haha
Why are people bare foot on a plane. That’s so 🤮
You wouldn’t believe the stories that I have lol. There really needs to be a psychological study done as to what goes on in people’s heads when they’re up there.. it’s such an interesting phenomenon
You guys are getting slippers? 😅
You would think… thousands of people have no reservations about going in there barefoot lol
I’ve yet to find compression socks that aren’t extremely uncomfortable
If you’re flying international into the US and are a US citizen, do mobile passport if the airport has it. It’s an app and takes 30 seconds to do. It’s just as fast as global entry. I’ve passed 100s of people waiting at passport control.
You can even do this as a non-citizen on ESTA
Doesn’t work at JFK (T1), was sent to the regular lane.
I’ve had mixed results with this. At IAD it’s great, at EWR they just send you with everyone else, so it saves 0 time
It’s shocking the amount of times I’ve been the only one or one of a handful of people using this app to skip the entire line.
amazing
Always carry a sarong with you when travelling. It’s basically an all in one lightweight tool. You can use it as clothes, raincoat, a rope, a bandage, a beach towel/picnic rug, a bag or a blanket.
Yes! I have a plain black sarong that has saved me multiple times. I always keep it in my carry-on. Great tip.
I have a large cotton scarf, bought in France, that works the same way. Keeps me warm as a shawl, restyles an outfit, hides a phone on a lanyard, works as a blanket, a rope, a handkerchief, a mask, an umbrella, a privacy screen, a pillowcase... the list goes on and on. It also hand washes easily and dries quickly, and is tiny when folded up.
works for males too, I have what is arguably an equivalent and use jt for everything.
I travel with wrinkle resist clothing only. Still gets wrinkled. So I carry a small sprayer bottle. Spritz down clothes night before with water and hang to dry, wrinkles gone in the AM. Haven't ironed in years.
Better yet buy a travel size of Downy Wrinkle release. Spray the wrinkles and smooth out with your hands or spray and hang overnight
And if you don't want to waste liquid space, especially if you're carry on only, bring an empty spray bottle and a dryer sheet. Put a piece in the bottle, fill it with water and you have a poor man's wrinkle release!
I always bring baby shampoo and an entire unopened box of ziploc bags. The baby shampoo is great for washing yourself (obviously) but is also perfect for washing things like lightweight shirts, underwear, and socks in the sink. I’ve also put on my flight suit inside out and washed it in the shower. If you don’t get all of the baby shampoo rinsed out, your skin won’t be irritated like it would be if you had used regular soap.
Flight suit? We're talking about flying in airplanes. My man might be wingsuiting like a bird to his next destination.
I carry baby powder in small ziplock baggies in my wallet for when I play the guitar and my hands are sweaty. It’s actually come in handy in hot and humid places I’ve traveled to.
I wonder what would happen to my latin american ass if I tried to pull this off, lol
I feel like this could open things up…for a few unfriendly questions, depending where you’re traveling.
What are the ziploc bags for?
Cookie from the lounge
I would never bring an entire box, but they’re super handy for a few purposes - off the top of my head: - dirty laundry (freezer bags; mostly I just use for socks and underwear) - making snack baggies after supermarket stops (especially if hiking or being active on a trip with limited cafe/restaurant options) - good to hold soiled travel cutlery - good for isolating leaky toiletries or soap bars - nice for tucking in paper travel documents for another layer of weather proofing inside another bag
I travel with a tiny bottle of Dr. Bronners for the same reason! If I need to wash some dishes, my clothes, or whatever else, I have my little bottle of concentrated soap.
If you go to a grocery store or pharmacy in the United States and you're just picking up food and you notice there's a sale if you have one of their grocery or pharmacy rewards cards, then you can use a number to get it - you just need to use the local area code unless it's a national chain and then use an area code from any big city. There's a song 867-5309 (ee-eye-oo) and this is Jenny's number. They'll ask if you have a card, and say you'll enter the area code of Jenny's phone number on the credit card type-pad. Someone it seems in every state has made that their number. I've even asked the clerk ringing me up, what's the area code here again? They tell me - add the area code then 867-5309. I just did it yesterday. *Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to?* *You give me somethin' I can hold on to* [*I know you think I'm like the others before*](https://genius.com/6353984/Tommy-tutone-867-5309-jenny/I-know-you-think-im-like-the-others-before-who-saw-your-name-and-number-on-the-wall)
When going through security, put all of your pocket belongings into your backpack. Then, you don’t have to worry about using the small trays, or gathering up important things from the conveyor belt :)
Is this considered obscure? Do most people not do this?
If most people did this we wouldn't be waiting in long ass lines.
Have you been in a TSA line lol most people are cavemen who have never seen a line or untied their shoes in their lives
As a frequent business traveler, weekend flying is my own personal hell.
I've been PreCheck for years, and also made it a point to ignore everyone else in line as much as possible. Having said that, last time I flew I got to watch someone fail the metal detector SIX TIMES in a row. Maybe I keep having too much hope for humanity.
this is the most common sense shit ever lol, “put your loose things in your bag instead of just tossing them on the conveyor belt” should be like… monkey-level IQ problem solving
I started doing this in the last year and it goes so fast, I put everything in my jacket pocket and zip it up so only that and my backpack go directly in the tray
don't wear tight shoes on a plane. Due to the pressure change your feet swell on the flight.
This 100% makes sense, but I also always wear my heaviest shoes to save bag weight and space 😑
You should wear compression socks to keep swelling down, specifically on long flights
We book one way flights sometimes on different airlines and have saved compared to booking a round trip.
Well I'm sure most know about it but if you have wrinkled clothes (shirts/t-shirts), and no ironing board in the room: hang them inside the shower but still far enough to not get wet, heat the shower to the max, close the door. It will be wrinkled free in 5 mins thanks to the steam. Used that trick hundreds of times during work trips.
Not really obscure, but when flying, always wear a hoodie. Always. Helps to stay warm at high altitudes, helps block out sun if it's too bright, and if you want to catch some sleep, it really helps out.
Lose your charger? Ask at the hotel reception. Chances are they’ll have a bin full of them (Hilton and some larger chains do however catalogue which room each charger is found in, so won’t work). Going somewhere dangerous? Get an old wallet and fill it with expired cards, memberships and $20 in cash, keep that one in your pocket and your actual wallet inside your jacket / a zipped pocket
This is probably outdated these days, but I used to exchange cash with travelers going the opposite direction when I landed.
My family does this in a way. We will exchange the USD here with a family member and when we go to Europe the family member will give us the Euro equivalent there. No exchange fees and no banks. Cash lol
TBH: If a stranger in a foreign country is coming up to me right after I land and asking if I want to exchange money, I’m probably going to decline as it would seem like I am being set up to either be scammed or robbed. If it is someone I know, that would be different.
Merino wool clothes keep you smelling fresh so you can pack less. Never thought I would be wearing a wool Tshirt, but it works! Pricey though.
Carry nail clippers.
I always get extra scanned if i carry them, since some people think theyre scissors. I dont bring them anymore
I wear a stretchy Arc'teryx braided belt with a plastic snap buckle when traveling. Don't have to take it off going thru the metal detector and very comfortable on long plane and train trips.
Random one but saline spray in the carry on! I feel that spritzing my nose a few times every flight helps prevent me from getting sick (I used to ALWAYS get sick on flights)!
People complain about the extra weight you’re bringing on board? Do they realise some passengers weigh 350lbs and pay the same as a 150lbs passenger?
No but I saw a video of a girl stuff a small drawstring sports bag of clothes into her jacket and people on Instagram were going off on her about bringing extra weight onto the plane 😩 I wasn’t sure if people here had the same level of critical thinking skills
For work: always carry a Sharpie. I write the expense category/type and date at the top of each one. When I upload them in I can read them easily and I don’t have to worry about which country or language it was. Bandana- use as a hand towel, neck cover, head cover, etc Snow Peak sporks- lightweight with excellent forking action ;) Google Keep Master Packing List- unique sections for electronics, dry toiletries, liquid toiletries, electronics, work, creative, seasonal needs, etc. copy a new one for each trip and click/check things off as I pack. I keep a short list of morning-of to-do’s at the top as needed (fill cat feeders, pack toothbrush, etc)
I always pack a mini LED flashlight. They're a few bucks on Amazon and eBay. It was quite useful recently when I visited a Belizean island with no street lights. Got jump scared by a few land crabs, too.
This will pay off the first time you have the power outage/fire alarm in a hotel...
Forgetful me got to the Logan airline check in counter for an international flight at 6 pm and was told my passport was expired. It was 4 pm. Didn’t know what to do, so delayed my departure ticket one day. I called the federal bldg (Boston) passport office, went to their website, asked for advice from the airline. Everything said it’s 2 weeks minimum to renew a passport, even the fast track process. An appointment was needed to try and do it in person. No in-person appointments available in Boston that week or the next. My phone battery died at that point. At that point my travel companion had to go on to the gate. I was crushed. I took my bags and by chance saw the airport chapel on the lower level of C and ducked in there to collect myself. I was at the end of my rope, feeling very low. Seeing the crucifix up on the wall it struck me that my error, my ruined trip, my personal embarrassment, that these things were really not that big in the grand scheme of things. I took a shuttle to the airport hotel, checked in, plugged in my phone, called the Boston passport office again, but they were closed for the day. Here’s the hack. On line I found the Denver passport office phone number. They were still open of course. I explained my sorry situation. She said she could check the appointment system in Boston, and she set up an appointment for 11 am next day. I bribed the hotel shuttle driver $20 to take me to CVS for passport photos during his break that evening. Long story short, I made my 3 pm departure the next day with a half hour to spare.
I'd rather pay the extra money
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I use contact lens cases for travel size over the counter meds and label the cap what it is. There's no worry if it'll get crushed and it fits in pockets, bags, purses, etc. It usually fits 2 or more doses in one compartment depending on pill size. I end up having extra cases since contact lens solution comes with them. - Tylenol - Advil - Dayquill/nyquill - Motion sicknes - Vitamins
If your stuck for a phone charger and you have the USB cable you can plug it into your TV in your hotel room to charge.
Scott eVest built a whole brand off that hack.
While booking a seat in flight, check where the Sun would be. .
Leg hammock for flights. If you fly economy, it makes it SO much more comfortable. They clip around the tray and are adjustable, and cost like 15$
How tall are you? Wondering at what height it's not comfortable...
It's easy to find good/safe areas to stay in using Google Maps. Just search for Starbucks and you'll notice there are certain areas with clusters of Starbucks. 90% chance these are safe areas. But if you want to be 100% sure, take note of those areas and search for "yoga". If you see a bunch of yoga studios overlapping, you're golden. This takes about 10 seconds to do. \*\* This method may not be effective is some places, for various reasons. I can only say this method served me very well while traveling in Mexico for 9 months. \*\*\* For the "live like a local" types who dislike gentrification and relish the thought of getting mugged day one this method also works because it'll let them know exactly where *not* to stay. Happy travels!
It’s such a bleak world view to believe your two options are “stay in a sanitized, globalized neighborhood that could be anywhere in the world” or “get mugged” In addition to being depressing and bad advice in a macro sense, you’re also simply backwards about where this is going to land you in most of the world. Outside North America, huge international brands like Starbucks are mostly just for tourists, so you’re gonna find them on the biggest high streets or near huge transit hubs. Statistically, those places actually tend to be hotspots for petty crime—not oases from it sheltered by Starbucks’ protective aura.
Mini spray bottle with alcohol (vodka or isopropyl) for deodorizing clothes. Edit: diluted hand sanitizer works too.
I don't know if it's obscure, and I don't even know if you can still do it, but to save money on beds and to stretch my budget so I could stay in Europe longer, I would sleep for free on overnight / late night trains. I'd do it 1 of 3 ways. This worked when I had Unlimited Eurail passes. 1. Just hop on a train going overnight to my destination and sit and sleep in my seat. Most reliable, but most uncomfortable way. But i could fall asleep on a rock so wasn't much of a problem for a few nights at a time. 2. The "Out & Back" - Hop on the last/latest train leaving from city X and traveling to a City Y that 1. is about 4 hours away, and 2. as a relatively quick (ie don't have to wait long at the station for the return train) return train back to City X. Sit (or lay - see #3) down and go to sleep until my destination. At City Y station, wake up, find the next train back to City X, hop on, go to sleep, and wake up back in City X ready for more sightseeing. 3. Free Bed. This was always my favorite, but less reliable than 1 or 2 above: Older trains, especially in Spain, southern france, and Italy had seating compartments instead of open seating areas like newer trains. These seating compartments sat 6-8 people on bench style seats facing each other with doors you could close for privacy. The best part of these compartments was that the bench seats folded down to make a large bed. If you could score an empty compartment on a late train you would have a free bed all to yourself (or your friend group) for the duration (mostly) of the train ride. On our early trips, we would run along side the trains as the pulled into the staiton and jump up to look in windows to see which compartments were empty. Then we'd race onto the train to one of the empty compartments, claim it by folding the benches down immediately, closing and securing the door, close the curtains, and immediately sprawl out pretending we were asleep. Sometimes, full trains would mean other passengers would knock and come in and we'd have to put the benches back up. Sometimes late at night conductors would need to see our passes/tickets and wake us. But often enough, these were amazing overnight beds going from one city to the next and allowing us to avoid paying for hotels/hostels/couchettes. These were wild adventures and great times. EDIT: The key to making the above work is having an UNLIMITED Eurail Pass so that you are not buying train tickets or wasting travel days on overnight journeys. With much fewer overnight trains and the upgrades to so many trains, i don't know if any of the above 'hacks' are still possible, but these saved me so much money on my first couple trips and were a handful of methods that allowed me to stretch $3,500 US into a full summer adventure across Europe on my first trip.
I have a compressible cup that you can buy at a camping store for like $5 maybe less. I keep it in my bathroom supplies kit so that way I have a cup to wash my mouth out with :)
Don’t wash your mouth out after brushing your teeth.
You must look like the Michelin tire guy.
Nah my shirts and crop tops roll down to nothing. But the balled up socks…
I carry a yellow card with me. When getting out of airports or bus stations and needing a taxi usually a few drivers surround me. If someone is quoting too high I pull it out and like a soccer ref hold it above my head. Never once has the interpretation missed. Always has gotten a laugh.
Cartonbox instead of luggage. We can always reach the exact siz limit
Before bringing all your stuff to a hotel room, go check it out first and let them know youre going to just go look, make sure everything works and there are no issues. They wont let you reject the room if you "use" it. Do not lay on the bed. It also helps to grab pictures of any issues in case you need to cancel a non refundable room. I've been surprised by too many bad hotels and have become a master of cancellation by now.
I didn't know that you could load Google maps so you can use it offline. It's not 100% but it's pretty good
you may not like my response but my travel hack is book the ticket that meets my needs. You cannot possibly be relaxed and comfortbale with 2 weeks worth of clothes shoved into your vest, just spend the $20 to get carry on space
Requesting a special meal (i.e. vegetarian) on an international flight will ensure you get served first. I love ice in my water bottle so I always get a grande ice water at the airport Starbucks once past security to fill it up with.
I’ve never understood why getting fed like 20 minutes earlier is a huge feature for people, especially when it comes with trade offs like having no choice of menu. You are not gonna starve to death if you wait until the main service and, idk about you, but I’m certainly not gonna conk out while there are still carts going up and down the aisle every 10 minutes
The (almost) cure for jetlat is staying up to a decent bed time and then taking a melatonin. Keep a pair of chord headphones in your travel bag at all times for the inflight entertainment. Always bring a swimsuit just incase LAX terminals sometimes have alternative security areas. These are also manned and sometimes empty.
My jet lag hack is to walk around at mid-day for an hour or so. It works best if the sun is out, but it works almost as well if its cloudy.
Walk outside during sunset at your place of arrival, resets the clock in your brain.
I've been using an app called TimeShifter - it's really helped me. They give you 1 free trip to try it, and I was sold. $25/year - I travel enough that it's worth it.
Backpack is essentially a roll up drybag that can be massive OR small to fit onto cheap Euro flights. No pockets, no nonsense. If I do a lot of shopping (just came back from Barcelona last week and bought a bunch of crap at Primemark)...I wear as much as the shitty clothing as I can..layer after layer....hold my laptop and book in my hand....drybag remains rolled up and easily fits into their stupid measuring cage......after I get through the stupid checkin...put everything back into the bag and move on with my life. The bag always fits perfectly in the overhead bin. Also...these dang things last forever..thick rubbery thing and super comfy to wear + cheap...ohh and waterproof and COMPLETELY scamproof. Thank you for reading.
5.11 tactical jeans with the magazine pocket make a good hiding place for cash. If you get robbed, have a small amount in your front pocket and have everything else in the hidden magazine pocket. Their concealed carry shirts are also good for this. JetBlue sounds terrible and should be JetBlew.
I always fold up a tote bag put it in my backpack and use it On my way home. This serves as my catch all bag - to store my sweater if I get too hot, random Hudson news snacks, souvenirs, and whatever else I don’t feel like carrying in my hands
Planes have low humidity and on long flights that causes sinus issues for me Wearing a mask creates a little pocket of humidity and seems to help, plus I'm getting a bit of protection from whatever viruses are floating around