12 Best Travel Tips You Will Ever Read

We wanted to share with you our top 12 travel tips which have helped us travel more comfortably and stress free. Even though there are many other people out there who have traveled much more than us, I believe we have traveled enough to come up with those that help us on our adventures together! Hopefully some of these things will help ease the stress of travelling and make your trip just a bit more care free and enjoyable. Please comment below and let us know of some of your favorite travel hacks so we can share them with our readers!

Book Your Flight in Advance

There is a lot of information on the exact “sweet spot” or time to book travel, but the most beneficial time to book flights is roughly 4-6 weeks in advance for domestic flights and 3-4 months in advance for international flights. Unlike cruises which sometimes offer last minute deals, airlines sell off their cheapest seats first and then the prices climb from there. A quick example of this is a round trip ticked from Richmond International Airport to Orlando Florida can go from around $185 round trip to $600 round trip when purchasing a last minute flight. I don’t know about you, but I can think of several things I could use that money on! Google flights is a great resource for searching flights and checking the prices for many of the major carriers.

Get your Passport Well in Advance

If you plan on traveling outside of the country, you know that having a valid passport is a must! If you read on the internet, you can see many horror stories of individuals who are so excited to travel that they book an international trip and then forget to apply or renew their passport and end up having to sweat while they hope it will make it to them in time. On average, it takes 6-8 weeks to receive your passport, however you can pay an extra $60 fee for an expedited request. Don’t let this oversight cause you undue stress and concern before taking a trip of a lifetime! Also keep in mind, many countries are now requiring your passport be valid for SIX months PAST your travel date.

Pack a First Aid Kit

This is something that is often overlooked but can come in very handy. You can purchase small first aid kits at your local grocery or big box store such as Target or Walmart. This is a must for someone who is an active traveler who may be doing excursions, active hikes, or maybe someone like my husband who always seems to find a way to cut or hurt himself! The band aids in the kit can be very useful for blisters which also have come in handy for when I have had to wear dress shoes or heels which look pretty but can be quite uncomfortable. Who wants to be limping around on vacation?! Not me!

Bring Hand Sanitizer with You

We all know that germs are everywhere, but nothing makes you feel more grossed out than sitting on an airplane with someone coughing or hacking nearby! When we are traveling on a plane, after buckling my seatbelt and getting situated, out comes the hand sanitizer! I am not a germaphobe, but I really do not want to pick up something that will leave me with a cold or sickness for the duration of my trip. Also, I do not want to bring back an illness as a memento from my trip. Just make sure that your bottle of hand sanitizer fits within the TSA guidelines of being less than 3.4oz.

Bring Dryer Sheets in Suit Case to Keep Clothes Smelling Fresh

We all know that our suitcases or bags can have an odd smell that seems to permeate our clothing. By packing a few dryer sheets in our bags, we can combat the odd and sometimes gross odors that can overwhelm our neatly packed clean clothes. You can also bring a bottle of wrinkle release or Febreze which can be used to freshen up clothing items and even remove wrinkles by laying the clothes out, spraying them, and then brushing out the wrinkles.

Bring a Bag to Pack Dirty Clothes In

This one goes without saying. Often while travelling, you get sweaty or dirty and then at some point those clothes must be placed somewhere to keep them out of sight or from getting in the way. A bag is a great solution for this issue as it acts as a dirty clothes bag or hamper. This is especially useful if you are a serial over packer and bring too many clothing items, and you do not want them all to be compromised by your dirty clothes. If you have a large suitcase, you may have a separate pocket where you can place these clothes or soiled shoes if needed.

Roll your Clothes to Save More Space

This is one of our favorite travel hacks as even though Brian and I were skeptical about it at first, it allowed us to travel to Disney for a week with 2 carry-on bags and avoid the $50 fee for checking a bag on our way there and back. You can find many tutorials online on how to roll clothes for packing, but it is truly a great way to minimize the space needed for clothing. One additional way to save space is to place your socks inside of your packed shoes which saves space and keeps the shoes from being squished. If you are careful with rolling your clothes, you can even avoid adding wrinkles, which makes Brian very happy!

Bring a Portable Cell Phone Charger

Portable cell phone chargers are really a game changer when it comes to travelling. Depending upon where your travels take you, your phone may be in and out of service and because of this your phone is constantly trying to acquire a signal. This causes your cell phone battery to quickly diminish and when you check your phone you may be shocked on how fast this happens. Bringing a portable charger (must be in your carry on according to the TSA) will allow you to listen to music, play games, take photos, update your social media account, and keep in touch with loved ones. There is nothing more frustrating than going to use your cellular phone and seeing the low battery!

Bring a Waterproof Cell Phone Case

A waterproof phone case is nice because not only is it very affordable, but it does not take up hardly any space in your suitcase or carry on bag. We purchased these before we traveled to Iceland this past summer because we knew that we would be up close and personal with several waterfalls and you know electronics and water do not typically play nice together. By bringing these waterproof cases with us, we were able to get some wonderful photographs of several gorgeous waterfalls and the well known Blue Lagoon. These cases are typically large enough to accommodate some money and a credit card or ID.

Bring Snacks for the Airport and Flight

We all know that buying snacks at the airport is very expensive, let alone purchasing snacks on flights (where applicable). One of the challenges for us is that we both have food sensitivities and therefore it’s a bit more challenging on our options for snacks. Make sure that whatever you bring is unopened and fits within the TSA’s guidelines. Some of our favorite snacks include Justin’s Almond Butter packets, Orchard Valley Trail Mix packets, RX Bars, and Epic Jerky. There is no worse feeling than sitting in the airport or on a plane and being hungry, or as Brian says “Hangry”!

Notify your Credit Card Company of an Upcoming Trip and Check for Foreign Transaction Fees

It is very important when travelling internationally and even within the US that you inform your credit card company of upcoming trips. You may be ok rolling the dice and not doing so but imagine the hassle of being away someplace nice and having to spend time calling your credit card company to explain it really is you on the trip and it is not someone who stole your credit card information. Before we travelled to Iceland, we notified our credit card company of our trip and also checked to make sure there were no foreign transaction fees on our card. Foreign transaction fees typically tack on around 3% on all your purchases.

Check with your Cell Phone Carrier Before Travelling Abroad

Depending upon where you travel and plan on staying, you will likely want to keep in touch with loved ones and update your social media profile with those awesome vacation photos! This is not an issue if you have complimentary WiFi in your hotel or resort, but it can become a challenge when exploring somewhere new. Some cell phone carriers offer international coverage, but you must do your homework and not assume that since you have coverage there you are good to go. Before we traveled to Iceland, we researched whether we would be able to use our phones for internet access and phone calls when outside of our resort or the tour bus which included free WiFi. What we found was that our carrier T-Mobile allowed for free unlimited text and free unlimited data and much to our surprise we had decent coverage even in the remote parts of Iceland.

Don’t forget to comment below and tell us your favorite travel tips!

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