On your way to your top bucket list destination? Or hopping a red-eye to visit friends for the weekend? Wherever you’re headed, these ten tips will help you get there in top form.
1. Alleviating jet-lag. Once you board, set your watch to your destination’s time and try to keep to the new schedule for meals, sleeping. Fight the urge to nap on arrival. Spend time outdoors - being out in the daylight will help your natural circadian rhythm adjust faster. Hydrate! Drink plenty of non-alcoholic and non-caffeinated drinks while aloft.
2. Ear plugs/eye mask. Don’t leave home without them. Really. Just a cheap, foam pair of ear plugs can save the day (or night). You never know who or what will be in the next room, upstairs, or sitting next to you on the plane! And, if your seatmate spends the entire flight reading, an eye mask is far superior to wrapping your sweater around your face.
3. Leave the bling at home. Don’t bring expensive jewelry on your trip. It is too easily lost or stolen. Wear costume jewelry if you want to accessorize. And, many of my female friends stick to just the wedding band, the engagement ring stays home.
4. Stash Some Cash. Divide your cash into at least two locations. Leave some in the safe or hidden in your room and keep some with you. Even on the plane, I divide my cash. Half in my purse/backpack; half in my carry-on bag. If your wallet is lost/stolen, you’ll have some money until you can replenish or replace the cash and cards
5. Collect business cards. Pick up a hotel card on your way out the door for a day of site-seeing or a night out on the town. If you get lost, presenting the hotel’s card will help locals point you in the right direction or let your cabbie get you to the front door.
Shop and restaurant cards are fun mementos, and when you return you don't have to remember how many blocks you walked before you made a right and then a left and then another left. Or was it a right?
6. Always have TP. And, I don’t mean a Travel Professional (although, that’s the best tip!). I mean toilet paper. Bring a small pack of tissues or a folded bit of toilet paper in your bag during day excursions. In some locations, it is SOP to charge a fee for toilet paper. In others, it isn’t even available.
A travel pack of disinfecting wipes in your purse or backpack will be handy for wiping down a tray table smeared with spilled Coke or a park bench just vacated by a pigeon.
7. Roll clothes instead of fold while packing. You will have fewer and looser creases. And, the creases will shake out easier when you unpack. I usually roll two or three similar shirts together and roll one or two pairs of pants together, depending on bulk. Bonus to rolling - uses less space!
8. Have you ever spent part or all your vacation without your luggage? Once packed, take a picture of your luggage and belongings with your phone. Filing a claim for a lost bag is much easier if you’re not racking your brain trying to remember what you packed.
If you’re traveling with someone, divide your clothes between bags. That way, if one bag gets lost you’ll each have some of your stuff.
9. One tag per bag! When checking a bag, remove the old destination tags. Multiple tags don't impress anyone, but will definitely confuse them. Your trip to Peru last year was awesome. But, you don’t need your bag returning to Cuzco while you head for Istanbul!
10. Boxers or Briefs? Whether it’s tighty-whities, boxers, briefs, or thongs, put extra in your carry-on. If your checked bag goes astray, who wants to make do with just one pair of undies?
While we’re on the subject, pack at least one change of clothes, all medicines, and anything you can’t do without in your carry-on – not your checked luggage!
Have a great trip!
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