Always have a hooded sweatshirt with you (even in summer and hot climates). Planes are totally unpredictable, so the sweat shirt is often used. It can be balled up and used as a pillow if needed. Mine has pockets on the inside so my ID and phone are safe and easily accessed. Slip on shoes. Comfy pants. I have apps (airline, FlightAware, etc.) so I can keep informed.
And most important is a zen sense. Although it gets frustrating sometimes, travel today is actual fairly easy compared to history. Your ancestors walked, were crammed into boats, had no idea when they may get to somewhere (and what was there when they got there). It's really almost never life and death today.
Read the Trip Advisor subscriber comments about hotels etc and look for the common themes amongst them to identify problems and good tips.
Everyone's needs are different. I'm not good at traveling light and I know it. I like to bring all the toiletries I feel like, and enough clothes to have at least a tiny degree of choice of what I wear on vacation. When I first heard the airlines would begin charging for checked baggage (and charging A LOT) I thought I'd seen everything. I think it's absurd that they charge what they do (plus many now charge a penalty fee if you make it to the gate with your bag and it is deemed too large to carry on) but they also make bringing a carry on so difficult that it all just adds one more layer to the excruciating process of flying nowadays. There is simply nothing pleasant about it.
My advice when traveling abroad: backpacks are easy for pick pockets and you won’t even know it’s happened, no battery packs in your suitcase, make copies of passports/credit cards and subscribe to the State Dept Smart Traveller Program (STEP), ensure any credit cards have immediate charge notifications to your phone, check into renting a phone or buying a local SIM card, if possible have the hotel bus or driver meet you upon arrival saves a lot of anguish, research using Trip Advisor comments or the like about the airport, hotel/area etc (for instance I discovered Bucharest security was chronically slow and saved me missing an early morning flight), be nice to the gate agents and flight attendants they do remember you, finally airport security is for everyones benefit so shut up and do as you’re told. Don’t like it then stay at home. The Chinese easily have the best security in my opinion.
Re: new ways to find and book the perfect vacation rental
Travelers should know that the "big 3" (airbnb, expedia - homeaway and vrbo, and tripadvisor) charge exorbitant fees to the traveler. By seeking out regional websites and/or searching by property name or other identifier for individual property owners on google and facebook, travelers may communicate directly with owners and managers prior to booking and save hundreds of dollars in booking fees. Safety and security guarantees proclaimed by the big 3 are fear mongering with little benefit behind the proclamations. Eliminate the big 3 websites from your vacation rental search - none is the traveler's or the owner's friend - these sites are simply generating revenue for themselves with little, but verbiage regarding difficult to claim benefits, for the traveler. Booking direct is best!
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Do not wear clothing with metal snaps etc thru airport scanners and wear slip on shoes. If it is winter, I have found slip on garden shoes with good treads replace boots. Take a folding nylon low weight water repellent bag that will double as a carry on. Clearly, I am not doing high style travel.
Best air travel tip ever - don't. It has an horrific carbon footprint and is a large part of global warming. Pick a place you can reach by train. Even using your own car is better. Planes aren't cleaned properly and they can make you sick. Why would anyone want to take a plane where you're treated like cattle in a cattle car? It used to be fun but best avoid it if you can. It is a particularly nasty way to travel.
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Cars and trains aren't such good choices to go to Europe or Asia.
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I want tips on I want tips on how airlines can better serve their customers.
Don't buy the cheapest product they sell. Its simple. Their cheapest products are designed to get large quantities of people across a continent or an ocean for just a number of hours pay.
A couple weeks ago I flew from San Diego to Switzerland with a stop in London. In San Diego I was treated to a light meal and drinks as I waited for my plane. I was one of the first on; and was served champagne. I then at a great meal, had 7 hours sleep laying flat, and watched most of a movie. After a shower, clothing change and breakfast in London I took a short hop to my destination. Low stress, high quality.
In the end even with the low end product they are moving you thousands of miles with very small on-time windows and making is most of the time. Its amazing!!!
Easy. Stopped flying and take the trains.
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Where do I catch the Bangkok Express?
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When i read the title to this piece, I thought, finally an etiquette article for behaving in public. Unfortunately not. Just the usual in the age of Trump.
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Best travel tip: If asked, claim you're Canadian. Saves embarrassment and having to defend America's non-existent honor. Oh, for authentication purposes, be sure to toss in, "eh?" , a lot.
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Lemme guess, no matter what the problem is, the Times' invested-in partner the Wirecutter has a solution, for a price.
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After being sent to nearly a dozen countries in the last 4 decades, my suggestion: Travel Light
Take some of your best clothes and some of your worst. Nearly all destinations sell clothing. Jettison your old clothes and take new things home. Have your suitcase one-third empty going out, it will have room for treasures coming back.
And please remember to check the weather forecast for your destination
Bon Voyage
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I saw the headline and was hoping this would be about how airlines could improve or, even better, the entire air transportation system. Imagine, being treated with kindness, seats with actual leg room in coach, blankets that have not been used, tray tables already wiped down, food and snacks provided because you paid for a ticket, pilots who communicate during turbulence, flight attendants, though weary and safety first, who do not seem actually surprised and disappointed by passengers, passengers who treat the journey with patience and generosity. Airports that plan for actual people with baggage (of all kinds), including by having bathroom doors open out, clear signage, a plan for luggage to arrive or not somewhere, an understanding that it does snow sometimes. An air transportation system that is not so fragile that one plane, one storm, or one strike shuts the entire thing down. A system that has some flexibility, that acknowledges weather and human fallibility, and the fact that Atlanta can become messy, Chicago over crowded and the Northeast jam-packed. Why are flight attendants and pilots up early to fly to another city because they cannot afford to live in the hub?
Finally, if we all wanted to take a break from flying, what could we do? trains are not fast enough, nor do they cross the seas. The QEII is too expensive. You've cornered the market, airline industry, be more generous, kind and careful with that power that you have.
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The best money we spent (OK maybe an exaggeration) was $40 for a sim card for the phone during a month in Australia. Text your contacts, kids, parents and others, and you're set. Included in the price were texts, calls and data.
Although, a hard-sided suitcase does a good job of limiting contents (and weight). It’s much more efficient, and comfortable to limit baggage to one personal item of approximately 18 x 14 x 8 inches (45 x 35 x 20 cm ) and skip the regular carry-on, entirely. Should fit under seats of even small aircraft, such as the Embraer ERJ-145 and weigh approximately 15-pounds (6.8 kilograms). In it pack fewer items than recommended in the article: two to three sets of socks and underwear (hand wash), one top, one bottom, no shoes and put the hat on your head or in your pocket.
This makes me laugh: I'm supposed to do a 9 day business trip to Germany and France and only pack a backpack?
Two suits and two pairs of shoes (dress and running, even) don't fit inside a backpack, let alone my Dopp kit...socks...etc.
Backpacks are for Boy Scouts.
I'm missing some advice as to how to stay calm in the midst of the mayhem!
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The be a better traveler is to considerate and conscious of others around you and the culture. We have more gadgets, devices, apps, and travel information than ever before but what continues to be one of the biggest challenges is how we react to and interact with our fellow travelers and those living in the destinations we visit.
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Travel with a small comfy backpack, leaves your hands free through the airport and then plays double duty when you reach your destination.
Packing cubes are fantastic for keeping clothes organized and neat and separated between family members.
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My travel essential is a 12 foot extension cord with a cube end. With a single adapter plug, I can charge three devices at once. Since every device I have charges with a universal power transformer, a converter is no longer needed.
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If you know you will be traveling a lot in the future, try your best to concentrate your planned travel on as few airline and hotel brands as possible (One in each category is ideal). Especially if your work is paying for the trips and you have freedom of choice. Reward points can accumulate quickly and it’s nice to know when you have a free flight or night.
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If you can't fit it into a carry-on, you don't need it. I've spent as much as a month in Europe out of a carry-on and had everything I needed. There are Laundromats; there are hotel laundries; there are basins in bathrooms for undies and socks and such. And I disagree about hard-shell bags. A structured soft-sided always fits (see another's comments about needing a 21 inch bag, not a 22 inch).
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Ms. Smith, you are absolutely right. I just did 2 weeks in Japan in a soft, 2-wheeled 21" Delsey (plus backpack). When I bought that bag I took a tape measure, many alleged 21" bags measure 22". Another travel tip - you can almost always wear shirts 2-3x before laundering, pants, even more.
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It's good for you that you are healthy and can do that and don't need to bring a lot of meds and other medical devices/etc to help you get around. Traveling in one season at a time would allow you to not bring luggage. Traveling through multiple seasons in one trip makes that a bit more difficult.
Packing light is one way to do it, but I'd prefer to pack as much as I can. I travel extensively as I can work from anywhere - traveled to 47 countries in past 8 years. I routinely take the maximum free baggage allowance. Why not? Even packed with 50 pounds of clothes, my full size wheeled suitcase and smaller carry-on plus a backpack is easy to maneuver around and I'm not super fit or anything. I usually pack up to two weeks of clothing at a time and really have never had a problem getting around, although I do usually avoid public transportation (buses, subways) while moving from place to place with my luggage.
For the past few years I have been a featured speaker at "The New York Times Travel Show" offering my best tips for travel. You can find those and many more on my travel blog: https://goo.gl/3pzJtT
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Here's the best tip I've found since the TSA implemented its Reign of Molestation in 2010: boycott flying. Take the uber-luxurious, shockingly affordable, entirely civilized QM2. Arrive relaxed, not jet-lagged, and unassaulted.
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I like your analogy; "Reign of Molestation." I vowed to never set foot in an airport again after Homeland Security gave birth to the TSA under the guise to keep America and its citizens safe, after which the TSA was then given carte blanch to treat everyone of us as if we were all potential terrorists.
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Unfortunately, some people to be in Riyadh or Jakarta tomorrow, and trains and steamers are not the answer.
Bon voyage to those who can take those options, though.
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I'd like to get to Europe some time this lifetime.
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I had a 22” bag and it did not always fit easily into the overhead. Sometimes it had to be turned sideways, which is less than ideal. A 21” bag always fits as it should and you don’t lose much packing space.
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I think the main advantage of a 22", 21" or whatever is not that it fits in the overhead (though that is sometimes useful) but that it is just overall more manageable than a 24" or something larger. In my case, I was tired of hauling a 24" on and off European trains and lifting it up onto higher shelves of train luggage bins. Actually, I am starting to get tired of the weight ofmy 22" wheelie, as it weighs close to 35 lbs. fully loaded and around 8 or 9 empty. So am thinking of switching to 2 lightweight duffels (one of which will have to be checked) and a compact rolling luggage carrier.
Stop being a control freak is probably the best advice. If you are the kind of person that takes personal affront to the fact that the turndown chocolate is dark instead of white it is best advised to stay at home. Travel, especially to foreign destinations involves the unknown. That is it, unknown. No amount of detail and planning can avoid some sort of surprise, just hope that they are good ones. The best suggestion I have is smile man smile, it breaks the ice and shows a willingness to work with the situation.
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