Traveling Tips And Hacks – When it comes to travel, packing and flying can be some of the hardest parts. It pays to have a few hacks up your sleeve…
We speak to some of the world’s most experienced travelers to find out what you need to know about hassle-free world travel. Bookmark this and read before you travel anywhere…
Traveling Tips And Hacks
Top packing hacks to help you master the art of a packed suitcase, from travel blogger and photographer Edwina Hart
Of The World’s Best Travel Hacks
Nothing will make packing easier than finding a suitcase with all the right features. Choose something:
• Light, because weighing a few extra kilos could mean you won’t be able to pack your favorite shoes or even result in an expensive ‘oversized bag’ fine.
• It has a protective casing made of polycarbonate, essential as there is nothing worse than discovering that your toiletries have exploded all over your clothes and electronics.
• That is brightly colored so you can immediately recognize it on the carousel among the ubiquitous black bags.
Packing Tips And Extended Travel Hacks For Women
Everyone knows last minute packing is the surest way to overpack. By writing a list in advance you will cut back on unnecessary items.
You need one secure place to keep your phone, passport, credit cards, cash and boarding passes on your person, a secure shoulder bag that’s easy to access and keeps your arms secure free to concentrate on other tasks.
Rolling your clothes instead of folding them makes your clothing items more compact and will save space in your case. It also prevents them from wrinkling. Also, try rolling valuables inside your clothes as a great way to keep them safe.
No more than three pairs, please. One pair for comfortable walking (ie your trusty Converse), one for everyday chic and one pair to look your best. A simple trick is to wear the heaviest pair on the plane to save luggage weight.
Practical Tips When Travelling For Work
Arrange to have a special travel makeup kit pre-packaged so you can grab and go. Essentials include travel-size items like roll-on perfume, moisturizers and hydrating lip balm to combat in-flight dryness, classic mascara, bb cream for easy coverage, lip gloss and dry hair shampoo. These beauty essentials will keep you looking glamorous wherever you are.
I could go on forever about the virtues of traveling with a scarf. Packing a few colorful scarves is a light solution to completely change the look of an outfit. They are also useful to use as a shawl if you are cold on the plane, summing up to create makeshift pillows on trains, as a nifty mask if you need to sleep on the road and necessary if you’ n travel to places that require a certain level of modesty.
In the summer a hat keeps the sun off your face, in the winter it keeps you warm, and it will jazz up any outfit too. Above all, after a long-distance flight, on holiday in extreme humidity or after a few days on the road without a good shower – you can hide that terrible mess your hair has become.
You never know what treasures you will find on your travels. Make sure you leave enough space in your case so you don’t have to part with that beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime object that will forever remind you of your amazing vacation.
Essential Bathroom Travel Hacks
I’m not sure it’s unique to me but my recommendation would be ‘don’t wait’. If the feeling takes you, book a holiday and get out and explore. It doesn’t need to be an overseas adventure; it can be as simple as staying a night in an AirBnb a few hours from home. Travel resets the senses, allows you to look at the world through a new lens and always makes memories to treasure – even those epic journeys fail to turn into funny stories when given enough time. pass by!
I’ve created my own plastic-free travel kit that I can throw in anytime I’m packing for a trip: a reusable coffee cup, a water bottle, a metal straw and a carry-on bag that folds up to the size of a business card. And while some air hostesses still seem annoyed to fill my bottle instead of handing over a small plastic water bottle, I feel like I’m at least doing what I can to help reduce single-use plastic waste during the trip .
Packing well is about items that can do double duty. I always take a waterproof ‘dry bag’ as my toiletry bag – it’s easy to throw things in quickly at the hotel checkout and can be packed loose or rolled in my luggage. Once on a trip, I’ve used it to protect my camera on boats and in monsoon rain; as a backup sick bag (a plan to have in the car with a child); even as a rainwater collector on a Vanuatu beach to get the freshest refreshment! I like the Scrubba bag, an Aussie invention, which also has little washboard style grooves so I can use it as a washing machine when it’s not doing all those other things!
SPEAKING A FEW WORDS AND PHRASES in the local lingo of a destination will say a lot to the people you are visiting in their country. It will convey that you know where you are (not all tourists do). It sets you apart from the last traveler he encountered (who didn’t even try). It suggests that you push for the place you are in beyond what you can take from it; that you believe in cultural exchange.
Airport Hacks That Will Change The Way You Travel
I USED TO BE AWESOME and self-conscious about being a monolingual moron but now I try to work with what I have: a decent memory and a reasonable ability to pronounce parrot, at least enough to understand. I have also lost the fear of making a fool of myself and, instead of mumbling my strange words, I speak them with a boldness that is incompatible with my linguistic inabilities.
BEFORE I COME ON A PLANET I make sure I have, at least, a hello and a thank you. For languages that come more naturally or if I’m going to be somewhere for an extended period I aim for good morning, good evening, thank you, you’re welcome, please excuse me, one, two, three, four, five , coffee, milk, sugar, sausage, bye, fantastic, delicious, of course and maybe.
RECENT LISTENING IS NEW WORDS and the right intonation in my brain, and there’s a world of would-be teachers on YouTube to help with that, so find your favourite. Write things down, put them on your phone, keep listening and asking as you travel, whatever works for you. Return trips can build your vocabulary especially for buying food and speaking slang.
IN TOURIST PLACES, WHERE PEOPLE ARE BUSY and tired of outsiders, trying to use your local words beyond simple greetings is not always appreciated unless you are fluent. But where little or no English is spoken, or if you’ve strayed off the beaten path, you’ll really notice the effects of your efforts. Technology now allows us to chat with each other even if we don’t share a language at all, and those apps have their place in breaking down barriers, but I never want to stop looking at strangers in They are absolutely right to say: “Buongiorno, un caffè per favor”.
Travel Tips For Homebodies — The Homebody Society
It sounds obvious and incredibly boring, but identifying potential ‘d’oh’ moments before your journey helps a lot with long flights. For example, there’s nothing worse than rummaging around your bag in an economy class seat or a small airplane toilet for nappy supplies, so when our son was a baby we packed a nappy and plenty of wet wipes into individual disposable nappy bags for quick, easy. access. Keep dummies, special toys and comforters in side pockets; and pack extra small bags to keep any dirty clothes to wash after you get to your destination. Also, pack a bag of colorful balloons in your handbag: they’re cheap, tiny to carry, and provide instant boredom relief in case of an emergency.
I travel a lot and planes are unfortunately a singer’s worst nightmare in terms of germs, recycled air and getting sick. Lavender oil is a must for me, it’s antibacterial and so damn relaxing. Aromatherapy works on me quickly and no one next to me has ever complained if I’m dousing the stuff here and there! I also use paw paw lotion for dry lips and even nostrils, as dryness leads to cracking and anything cracked or dry will let the germs in faster. Keep hydralyte or any other type of highly hydrating tablet or drink handy, so you can keep your insides hydrated too. All sports people do it, I hear, and hey – we’re musos like athletes too!
Sophie Miura is a senior editor at MyDomaine. An Australian in New York, she flew more than 200 hours last year on assignment, and shares her travel essentials here
Make the most of disposable hotel shower caps by using them to cover shoes when packing. They are the perfect size to fit around one pair of shoes and protect the contents of your bag from getting dirty