I was recently in a thread about “travel hacks” (on quora). People seemed to like my tips, so here they are, for general consumption:
- For packing the trick is BIT: buy it there. Pack the minimum you think you’ll need and if you forget something, buy it there. Often I don’t end up buying anything, but making this a part of my trip planning helps me relax and pack light.
- Passport, wallet, housekey, phone & charger. That’s my checklist when I leave the house on the way to a flight. Anything else is a non vital item I figure I can take care of when I get there. You could buy a new phone charger there but this is such an oft-forgotten item that you want it on your checklist lest you find yourself drowning in $30 wall warts. If you take heart medication you might want to add that to your checklist.
- They’re popular among frequent flyers, but I avoid the Bose noise-canceling headphones because they’re too big (and the travel case makes them even bigger). You can get a pair of in-ear noise-isolating headphones that are just as good, half the price, and 1/50th the volume (that’s volume in cm**3, not db). Slip them in your pocket and travel light. I use a pair from Shure and they’re fine.
- Luggage with a lifetime guarantee is worth the slight premium in price. Briggs and Riley make a very sturdy bag that’s strong enough you can sit on it during a long pre-boarding wait, and with zippers that rarely break. And when they do – in 5 or 10 years – replacement is free.
- If you’re tall or otherwise picky about airplane seats, use seatguru.com to understand the seat layout of your flight. Seatguru will warn you about equipment boxes under the seat in front of you, cold seats, or seats with a lot of bathroom traffic.
- From my wife, I learned to *always* ask for a better price or a free upgrade on hotel checkin. We stayed 10 nights in a $2400/night hotel room with an in-room infinity-edged swimming pool at Jade Mountain in St. Lucia (it’s amazing, check the website) for less than $300 a night because the lady who checked us in shrugged and said “sure” when we asked for a free upgrade. If they say no, no harm done. And you’ll be surprised how often things are negotiable (I was).
- For overnight flights, don’t take the sleeping pill until the airplane is actually off the ground. I once had an 11pm redeye with a post-boarding, pre-takeoff equipment problem that was announced moments after I swallowed a pill. Deboard, wait 3 hours, and finally reboard while fighting off the somnolence. Obviously doesn’t apply if you don’t take sleeping pills to fly (good for you).
- Never drink on a redeye; you’ll be dessicated enough when you land without any help from alcohol or any other diuretic. I avoid caffeine for the same reason.
- If you travel a lot internationally, it might be worth it to pay the $65/month for AT&T’s international unlimited data plan. It really is unlimited, and as far as I know it’s unique in the world. People from other countries are incredibly jealous that this plan is available to Americans (or people with a US credit history and address).
- Hotels make bank on the extras: room service, internet, parking, minibar, laundry. Make every effort to avoid these. If you’re traveling light and need laundry done, find a wash-dry-fold nearby; you can often pay them a rush fee for next-day service (sometimes it’s not advertised) and save a bundle. Take an airport express to share the internet cost with your spouse (or tether through your phone with unlimited international data). Grab a few snacks at a grocery store on the way from the airport to eliminate the risk of sating late-night hunger with $12 cashews.
And here’s a selection of tips from others in the same thread:
- Firebug can make that C20 boarding pass be an A1 boarding pass. They’ll never know. (From Ben Maurer) (Nota Bene: not TSA approved)
- If you’re traveling with someone, and you’re on a flight with 3 seats across, book the aisle and window, leaving the middle seat empty. That seat is much more likely to remain empty than if you leave the aisle or window empty, and if someone does happen to get placed there, chances are they’ll be ecstatic to switch seats with one of you. (from Stefanie Wauk)
Posted on 28 April 2010
- Leave a comment
- Subscribe with Google Reader
- Follow me on Twitter
Did you like this article?
-
If you travel a lot internationally, it might be worth it to pay the $65/month for AT&T’s international unlimited data plan. It really is unlimited, and as far as I know it’s unique in the world. People from other countries are incredibly jealous that this plan is available to Americans (or people with a US credit history and address).
As you previously stated, this plan is only available to AT&T business customers. For my recent trip I added the $199/mo. 200 MB package, which was barely sufficient. This sucks enormously.
I agree on most of the others. I always ask for a king bed (since I like that, even when traveling by myself) and am not infrequently upgraded if one isn’t available. I guess I’m not forward enough to outright ask for a free upgrade. You used to be able to get away with this on planes too, but frequent flyer upgrade regulations have become much more regimented due to “currency” inflation.
I don’t agree with Ben Maurer’s suggestion. Even if that doesn’t get you thrown in jail by the TSA, you’re going to make the people who fly every week very angry… it’s only an extra 20 minutes, but it adds up if you do it a lot.
-
That’s strange, I’m an individual customer and I was able to sign up for the unlimited international plan about 5 weeks ago. Maybe they made a mistake?
-
How/where? I thought you were lamenting recently that you were losing it as part of leaving Novell. It’s not listed at http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/roaming/affordable-world-packages.jsp
-
More detail; you can find it here: http://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/popup/dataconnect-comp-table.jsp
It has the footnote “11. Only available to qualified Corporate Responsibility Users (CRU) under an eligible AT&T business/government agreement.” So, congratulations on getting it on your personal account!
-
Huh, wow. Too bad they don’t offer that amazing plan to everyone.
-
Except they do seem to offer it to everyone, in practice: http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/International-Service/Unlimited-International-Data-Plan-for-Smartphones/td-p/1918101
Though unlimited, as usual, does seem to be limited. From the terms and conditions:
“If you are on a data plan that does not include a monthly megabyte allowance and additional data usage rates, the parties agree that AT&T has the right to impose additional charges if you use more than 5 GB in a month.”
Possibly the plan you reference has a different set of T&Cs — their web site is useless — but these seem to be pretty all-inclusive.
Not that $65 for 5 GB of international roaming isn’t amazing.
-
-
-
-
I change the boarding pass number not to save time, but because it makes it easy to grab a seat with extra legroom.
Southwest offers the option of paying $10 to get the same effect (an A group boarding pass), this method simply does so without having to pay extra money.
I’ll admit this method isn’t exactly on moral high ground.
-
-
I usually do not do the line, I wait until everybody boarded the airplane. Also, there is almost always another line in front of the airplane door. You will not arrive earlier because you were the first person to enter to the airplane.
-
Good point, Germán. If i’m several rows back, I just keep reading my book when the plane lands.
-
This can be a problem if you only travel with carry-on. Due to the airlines charging for the first bag now, everyone brings a carry-on, and they run out of overhead space about 3/4s through the boarding process. If you don’t mind having your bag checked, this is ok, but I despise baggage claim.
-
@Jared: You can check your bag at the gate in which case it will be available for you to pick up at the gate when you deplane – no need to wait at baggage claim.
-
-
-
Nat,
As usual, you’re much more succinct and to the point than I am. A few years ago, when I had just finished traveling every week for a few years, I wrote up some work-related travel habits I followed. http://blog.arttaylor.com/packing-light-for-work
-
Beautiful post Art, great tips, and I laughed out loud.
-
-
This is great! I can read some of my ideas already in there
I felt compelled to comment because of “8. Never drink on a red-eye”.
What Nat meant to say I think is don’t drink alcohol or coffee on flights. I actually recommend drinking nothing else but water at cabin temperature (no ice) or hot (tea).
Supplies, some of my flight essentials:
• Eye mask
• Neck pillow
• Smart clothing (under layers and fleece)
• Clean wipes
• Tissues• Face mask
Airliners fly in an elevation range of 30,000 to 37,000 feet, where humidity typically runs at 10 percent or lower. Our Mucociliary Clearance System dries fast at such low humidity levels.I wear face masks with wet filters (that I purchase in Japan) to keep my protective mucous membranes humidified as well as greatly cut down airplane smells: http://www.kobayashi.co.jp/seihin/nn_o/howto01.html
Hot drinks are also a good way to keep your nose working by keeping you hydrated and providing moisture in the form of steam.
Actions:
Wash your hands and brush your teeth (use mouthwash if you can). Bring a glass of drinking water or bottled water with you to the lavatory.
Moisturize your exposed skin so to help slow down dehydration.
I recommend not eating on planes unless you are really hungry, your entire body goes off balance when you fly and that includes your digestive system.
Wear your seat belt always buckled over top of your blanket so the belt is visible at all times to the flight crew.
Clean your tray and armrest with wipe. Studies show that the seat trays and armrests are amongst the dirtiest part your exposed skin is likely to get in contact with
Don’t let yourself dose off during the initial push back and taxing of the plane (or like Nat said, do not take your pills too early if you plan on using drugs). Cabin pressurization starts early and leads some to feel sleepy during taxing and take off.
Expose yourself to sunlight on the day of your flight arrival. While we are not plants, our body reacts actively to sun rays exposure (UVB generate vitamin D, etc.)
Don’t look back. Adjust the time on your watch and phone when you get on-board the plane. Don’t ever think “but back home it is…”. You are not home, you are away and only the local time matters to your body. Your mind has to control how your body feels.
-
Guy, great advice. You take the hydration thing pretty seriously, don’t you?
I think the sunlight and the watch advice are superb. I took a trip to Europe with a friend once who for some reason refused to set his clock to European time. He was in rough shape the whole week. Not recommended.
-
-
You spend $300 on a hotel room? You must be pretty rich.
-
Reads like it was a double room, which would have normally cost ten times as much.
So it was very cheap actually Besides, what’s your concern here?
My travel tip: stay at a hotel you can afford. don’t be cheap, you will probably regret it
-
It was the only vacation I took that year, and it was well worth it. Without question the most amazing hotel room I’ve ever been in: http://www.jademountain.com/accommodations.html
-
-
-
We are a global family moving from country to country with work.
After a while we just started to bring low weight, low volume, and high quality trekking, camping, and military equipment.
It is premium prised and a bit tricky to buy, but it just works and we always have our own stuff. We also do not except our luggage to arrive. Everything needed for our self and our kid is with us inside the plane or checked in at gate.
Here are two child products that just works:
– Noronna Child Carrier. Noronna is most famous for their special forces backpacks and serious trekking gear: http://products.norrona.com/webshop/tradepoint/b2c/ItemView.aspx?ID=0023-00
- Phil & Ted’s Traveller Portable Travel Crib. No nonsense baby bed. Our kid used for all sleeps for months. Small enough to bring inside the plane on the kids ticket. http://www.amazon.com/Phil-Teds-Portable-Traveler-Black/dp/B0016LUPAMWe also bring our own baby seat. Some air companies are willing to mount them inside the plane. Most of the companies offer to send them for free.
Basic super light cups, plates, spoons, forks, and so on is in our hand luggage.
-
Great tips, though I’m always wary about spreading the goodness of seatguru – it makes the good seats go away faster
Personally, I’m a believer when it comes to the Bose headphones. Like everything else Bose makes, they’re grossly overpriced, but they are the best I’ve tried. And the new generation (QC15) is a huge improvement in noise cancellation. But, by all means, NEVER buy them in Europe. They’re about 40-50% cheaper in the US.
For my carry-on, I also pack nose spray (against dehydration) and a pair of very thick socks (so I can get out of the shoes; nobody likes wearing shoes for 10h straight). And, of course, books; I like to not be bored during take-off or landing.
But a large part of the flight experience is determined by other people – the ground staff, the check-in, immigration, security gates, the gate staff. So you can go a long way by working with them.
Rule number 1 here is: “Be polite.” This should go without saying, but the number of times I’ve seen people argue with security or get angry at the check-in counter staff is just amazing. The poor sods can’t do anything about the rules, you’re just holding yourself and everyone else up.
Since I’m 6′4″, economy is hell for me; the seat in front of me begins before my knees end, the head rest tends to be 10cm shorter than my head. And my skin crawls when I have to touch an unknown person for 10 hours, which is unavoidable in full economy. So I go to some lengths to avoid that if the flight is long.
Some tips here:
Dress the part. Remember the people thing? Everyone needs to get comfortable for a long flight, but your chances to upgrade or plain get a better seat improve if you look as if you belong where you want to be. Shave, wear a jacket over your comfy turtleneck, and you’re much more likely to transport it without wrinkles (because the nice lady will put it on a coat hanger for you) than if you had stuffed it into your suitcase.
Another reasonably cheap trick is to get your credit card from the airline frequent flyer program. It’s a few bucks per year to get the gold-level business-package card, and even if you never fly business, when you check-in for your eticket, you hand over what? When they ask you at the line whether you really have your boarding pass, you show them what as well? Exactly, your credit card! They see the gold trim, their own logo, misjudge your FT status and send you over to the business class counter (even if you have a lowest class economy ticket, which is not as easy to see on the boarding pass); this happens to me in about 30-50% of my trips. Not only does that save some time (and nerves), but it also puts you in a place where more relaxed people are more well disposed towards you:
Always. Ask. Everyone. for an upgrade. The booking agent, the check-in counter, the gate (at every gate), the purser on the flight. You’d be amazed how often they take pity. Also, the flight reservations change quite often, so the more frequently you ask, the more likely you are to get an opportunity where something is free for cheap, and work your polite, well-dressed charm on the representative.
That said, the booking agent and everyone you can reach over the phone is usually unable to help at all. Even their supervisors have to stick to rules so stupid it’d make your head burst. (I could tell anecdotes …) Your best bet is the check-in counter, and first and foremost, the gate. (The on-flight crew is also great, but if the plane is full, it is too late.)
The gate folks – in my experience – can fix almost anything they like with regard to their flight. They’re also the folks who know whether business is full or not, and authorized to sell seats cheaper than anyone else, or to upgrade you. I’ve gotten upgrades that, when I inquired on the phone, were supposed to cost 3500 EUR (where I said: “uhm no thanks”) for $150, which I’ll gladly pay for 10h in business; or flights upgraded with miles where everyone else said that the contingent was already gone. I’ve not been quite as shameless as buying flowers when I go to the gate counter, but I’ve given it serious consideration.
And if you end up paying for the upgrade, make a fuzz: they will likely credit your mileage account only with the economy miles. You paid, you deserve the full miles (which gets you closer to your next upgrade). But make the fuzz _after_ the flight, never with the gate crew.
-
I just read this in anticipation of my trip to Munich! Although it’s a whole different set of guidelines when “Traveling with Small Children”! No sleeping pills, no earphones, etc.
Maybe I will write my own set of suggestions on my blog. Can’t wait for my next international flight! -
Pretty good tips. I couldn’t agree more with the lifetime luggage theory. I had a bag a couple of years ago destroyed by some over aggressive airport handlers, and was pretty much out of luck on getting any sort of replacement or reimbursement. Briggs and Riley is definitely a good brand, but the one I went with was Travelpro, as I found it was a little more affordable and had the same type of warranty for the Platinum 6 line.
I also agree with the Bose comments, as everything of theirs is ridiculously overpriced. They make a good product, but there’s other electronics out there that have the same quality for half the price.
-
One thing to be careful of is that more sturdy suitcases are often heavier (i.e. empty) and baggage allowances have dropped.
However, I do have the feeling that a number of commenters may be lucky enough to fly business class so get all the related extras (such as higher baggage allowances). Try to spare a thought for us non-rich types who fly economy!
-
Robert, heck, I wish! If I get to fly business, I’ve been very lucky indeed – company doesn’t pay for it and I only get upgraded by chance, but I try to make it more likely
The new luggage generation based on poly-carbonate is both sturdy as well as extremely light. (Mine is a samsonite.) I can only highly recommend them. Oh, and get a 4wheeler instead of only two.
-
-
Nat,
Great tips – several I recognize from my own travel optimizations. A couple more I’ve found useful:
- Buy a (small!) toiletries bag and stock it with duplicates of whatever you use at home, so there’s no “in the morning, I have to remember to pack my toothbrush/razor/yak” silliness. It’s okay to just buy two toothbrushes at a time. (Also means that, if at-home supplies run out and surprise you, the bag can be raided for spare deodorant, hair product, &c.)
- On the minibar extortion – I don’t full-out avoid them, but I do check the state of their tech. Some hotels use sensors, or special stickers, to track what is taken out of the fridge, but most just have normal cans of soda, bottles of beer, &c. If that’s the case, I’ll use the fridge and just replace with locally sourced stuff the next day (with a DND sign on the door, the fridge won’t be inventoried by housekeeping).
- Speaking of signs, I am reliably informed by a former jewel thief that “Please make up the room” door hangers might as well read “Rob me! I’m gone for a while!” Many hotels are starting to phase them out, AIUI.
PS – Avoid it if it messes with you in other ways, by all means, but caffeine is not a diuretic
-
intercontinental travellers:
Try to avoid US airports and US airlines. They are the worst and US customs will be very unfriendly if the check oyur bag.
-
Actually, being a frequent traveller to the US, I’ve never had any problems with customs. It’s the immigration people who are really unfriendly – and, of course, they’re the very first people you meet on arrival!
One time, the lines were long and they opened another booth. However, rather than announcing this politely, an immigration agent shouted at full volume ordering people to queue at the new booth.
-
-
These are some most important tips while traveling. I know some tips about travel but i got more tips from this blog. Simply the best tip i can say. Thanks for the sharing.
-
@ burps – You are absolutely right. But sometimes they are the good too.
-
> Passport, wallet, housekey, phone & charger.
Ha ha! you’ll need a lot more than that if you ever want to get anywhere. For a start you’ll HAVE to print out your boarding pass before you depart. You’ll also need your car hire voucher – unless you’re planning on walking everywhere
It’s also extremely good advice to have a copy of your travel insurance policy (including the phone numbers to call). And you’ll definitely need your EHIC card.
So far as documentation goes, that’s probably close to the absolute minimum you could possibly get away with. Happy travelling!-
You can tweak the list to suit your needs, but this is my “turn the taxi around” list – and I try to keep it as small as possible.
Speaking for myself, I never bring my boarding pass, car hire voucher, or any other documentation for my trips. I just bring my ID, and let their computers do the rest.
-
32 comments