Destination Travel Hacks
1. Buy a goodie bag for essential items
Don’t waste too much of your time and energy on emptying your favorite shampoos and lotions into TSA-friendly 3.4 ounce bottles, or stuffing-unstuffing other toilet essentials. Keep a small goodie bag exclusively for your travel needs. Special travel-sized samples of your favorite products are easily available. Grab them!
2. Keep your stash of extra cables and chargers ready
This is very crucial, if your travels plans include places where power-cut (or no power at all) is a problem. I’m a big fan of power banks from Transcend.
3. Buy spare camera batteries & memory
You’d never want to lose your photos from your trip to the Bahamas. Don’t forget extra batteries, like these and memory cards. They are a lifesaver.
4. Pack clothes with a single tone color scheme
This way you won’t have to waste time matching your attires. Seasoned travelers prefer dark clothing as it goes with everything and is usually stain proof.
5. Safeguard your gadgets
People who love adventure travel, love adrenaline pumping dangerous terrains even more. This is why their gadgets need to have a rugged DNA, like the Panasonic Toughbook laptop. It’s water and extreme resistant. Woah!
6. Buy a selfie stick
Selfie sticks are a great idea for those who like to travel alone. My favorite is this one right here. A must have!
7. Keep a journal of expenses
There are many expense manager apps available on app stores. Choose one with the best rating and highest number of favorable reviews. I like to pick from Google Play Store Editors’ Choice.
8. Get a travel credit card
If you travel more than 90 days in a year, then investing in a special credit card for travel expenses would be a great idea. Needless to say, they come with special travel perks! Check out some of these travel credit cards on The Simple Dollar.
Booking & Airport Travel Hacks
9. Get smart on the web
Clear out your browser cookies and history before hunting for cheap flights and hotel bookings. Sometimes these travel portals monitor our online behavior to show tailored results. Staying a step ahead of them will help get you discounts!
10. Book using mobile apps
Almost all travel sites have mobile apps now that offer special discounts to the first time app users. Make the most of this — while it lasts!
11. Don’t forget wifi
Most hotels charge extra for wifi and some even won’t have wifi (a rarest of rare cases right now). Therefore, opt for the one that offers wifi without an exorbitant price tag.
12. Pack a water bottle
When we enter a new country, it’s entirely a different ecosystem. Not only the timezone, but the climate, air and water — all are different. Our body needs to get used to it. Pack an empty water bottle. It’s allowed through security checks, and you could always fill it at the destination airport later.
13. Take a car park selfie
I tend to forget where I car parked last time at the airport after returning from a trip. If you suffer from this as well, then a simple car park selfie would spare you the trouble.
14. Get into the airport executive lounge on an economy ticket
Most people don’t realize that the airport executive lounge could be used on an economy ticket as well. Check your credit cards for such privileges. Another reason to buy a privileged travel credit card!
Packing Travel Hacks
15. Roll your clothes
Don’t fold your clothes. Roll them instead because space is precious. Check out some more packing tips.
16. Pack a dryer sheet
It’s a good idea to place a dryer sheet in your suitcase. Your clothes will always smell fresh!
17. Fragile Sticker
If you have some expensive things in your baggage and are checking it in the transit, then put a fragile sticker on it. The airport crew will treat it better and might make sure nothing gets on top of it. I’d still recommend taking precious cargo in your hand bags. Just to be on the safer side.
18. Empty Tic Tacs
You can use empty Tic Tac cases to keep your earrings or other small items you might otherwise lose track of.
19. Hide wine bottles in boots
Now this is really fun. Not only our wine bottles stay safe, but it also removes any chances of a spillage.
20. Sunglasses case
Wrapping wires around a sunglasses case is a great way to avoid tangled earphones and charger cables. Best hack for those of us who hate getting into annoying mess that are tangled earphones.
21. Use binder clip to protect your razor
Binder clips don’t just protect your razor, but they also safeguard other important stuff from the sharp edges of the razor blade.
22. Mark your territory (baggage)
Avoid the awkward moment when you find bags similar to yours on arrival and you are not sure if they are yours or not. Add cool stickers and mark your bags for life!
23. Keep your shirt collars neat
Our party clothes need to stay chic! Wrap belts on the inside of your shirt collars. It’s a great way to store belts and keep ironed shirts neat.
24. Shower cap
Have to keep your boots and clothes in the same compartment? No problem. Wrap the shoes in a plastic shower cap. Problem solved!
25. Hide emergency money
Empty lip balm can be used to hide your secret stash of emergency money. A great idea, isn’t it? Share more travel hacks with me through the comment section. I’m sure there are many more areas to explore. Featured photo credit: GeoJango Maps via unsplash.com
