Thursday, December 11, 2014

5 Favorite Travel Tips

TanyaAndi and are doing a fun December activity and I will be participating occasionally. Might be a nice change from the usual. Today's topic was vague: a list of 5 favorite things that aren't book related!

I went with my 5 favorite travel tips! I know, this is a random topic for the day, but a lot of travel happens this time of year so maybe good things to keep in mind :)

Don't leave the shower cap!

I saw this tip somewhere on the internet and now I use it all the time. Never leave behind a shower cap at a hotel. Open it up and nestle your shoes inside of it. It keeps all of the gunk on the bottom of your shoes off of the rest of the stuff in your suitcase!

Plastic bags can be your friend!

I always pack at least 2 sturdy, handled plastic bags when I travel. They have never NOT come in handy. You can stuff your dirty laundry in them, you can use them as packaging to help protect valuable things, or wrap up your toiletries bag if you're scared that your bottle of shampoo is going to explode mid flight. The most recent time I used them was to wrap up a pair of costume butterfly wings that I didn't want to shed glitter all over my suitcase.


All the black parts? Glitter.


Always have food!

Whether you're on a plane or in a car always have SOME kind of food with you. It doesn't have to be much but you never know when you're going to get delayed on the tarmac, stuck in a snowbank, or stranded on the highway behind a terrible accident. Being hangry will always make a bad situation worse! Throw a couple of granola bars, a bag of teddy grahams, some candy or something else in your bag. It takes up no space and could save your sanity at the right minute.

Suitcase switcheroo!

When I went to Mexico with my husband for our 5 year anniversary we both packed our own suitcase. Because I am paranoid, I made him put one of my bathing suits and an outfit in his suitcase, and I put a pair of his swimtrunks and an outfit in my suitcase. That way if one of us lost a suitcase the unlucky one would have 2 outfits to live on for awhile. (One in the other one's suitcase and one outfit in your own carry on). I've never had a suitcase lost and fingers crossed and prayers to God I keep that streak alive.

And an eye opening conversation with my sister...

My sister travels for work, literally constantly, so she's a good flyer. I'm an okay flyer until things get really bumpy and then I'm very,very nervous.We were talking about flying and she said something like:

Q: Well you can put alcohol in your carry on.
W: Are you sure? I mean, they won't let me take more than 3 ounces of face moisturizer but I can bring vodka?
Q: Yeah, it just has to be under the size limit and be in the quart bag thing and you can.
W: WHAT? THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING. (Scuttles to pantry and throws mini alcohol bottles in ziploc bag in anticipation of next flight which is at least 7 months away).

So obviously you don't want to get super drunk on your flight because: 1) hangover when arriving at destination 2) super dehydrated due to flying anyway 3) you might be an a-hole when you're drunk and that could get you in trouble with TSA and Homeland Security and other people who you don't want to be on their naughty list and 4) you don't want to be on passenger shaming.

Having said that I will definitely be having a couple of small bottles in my next carry on in case of turbulence. Be sure to check with your airline before doing this, of course, because all of them are different.

So there is your COMPLETELY unrelated to books post for the month.

17 comments:

  1. Good tips! I love to travel, so I'll definitely be using a couple of these. I already carry some plastic bags - particularly for carrying with me on rainy days at the destination of choice. That way I can take my wet umbrella wrapped in said plastic bag and toss the whole thing in my bag, so I don't have to have an extra thing in my hands once I've embarked on a drier activity. :)

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    1. Oh wet umbrellas that's a good idea too! I just bought a new teeny tiny travel umbrella so I will have to remember that.

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  2. That's a great tip about the shower caps. And the food. You'd think by now I'd remember to pack snacks, but nope. So that's an awesome and timely reminder.

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    1. I'm always halfway out the door and then I remember the snacks, then I run back inside and unintentionally grab the most random assortment of things possible, ha!

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  3. This was a really great post! I love travelling (whenever I can) I haven't thought of some this great ideas, like the luggage switcheroo! Brilliant! And the food thing, great advice! I also do the plastic bag thingy, and it is a life saver! For the shoes I bought some special shoe bags for a really good price that work really great.

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    1. I bought some pillow cases and the cloth bag was the perfect size for shoes but if I actually owned some nice shoes I'd totally get some shoe bags. It's good to have a backup because the shower cap isn't really a standard toiletry item at some hotels these days!

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  4. Shower caps are the best! I also take the dry cleaning bags from hotels too. Those come in handy a lot! Good point of the food. Stuck on a plane with no snacks or water can get nasty.

    Did not know that about alcohol! That's good to know when I visit breweries/distilleries :)

    Thanks for sharing the post! I think I'll start working on a helpful travel post...maybe :)

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    1. And always bring some spare snacks for the fellow hungrys around you!

      Keep a spare empty travel bottle for your next brewery visit,ha!

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  5. These are GREAT tips! I especially love the shower cap idea AND the idea of putting some extra clothes in each other's suitcase! Brilliant!

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    1. These tips really reveal that I'm a super paranoid packer/travel! But I haven't had any travel disasters so maybe I'm really just prepared :)

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  6. ALWAYS have food. During the debacle of an episode of getting to BEA this past year, I was on standby all day in ATL. I learned quickly that you did not want to be gone when they called your name- b/c they were not waiting. I had, on a whim, stuck a pack of Teddy Grahams in my carry on- by that afternoon, after only having abt half a coke and biscotti on the plane ride to Atl- I was starving. And HANGRY. That Teddy Grahams pack saved me from being put on the no-fly list. When I got to NYC, I found the nearest Subway. It was the most delicious thing.. EVER.

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    1. Teddy Grahams to the rescue!!! Hangry and stuck in an airport is no joke.

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  8. I so agree with you about the plastic bags and the food. Nothing can be worse than starving, and having no access to a restaurant or not enough money for one which is close. I love having chocolate or nuts within reach. At all times.

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    1. Chocolate at arm's length at all times is just a good life practice I think!

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  9. Food! That's such an important thing. Often when we go on road trips we pack too much food and bring it home!!

    I also make sure to pack some slippers. It's prob an Asian thing as we don't wear shoes around the house and so I don't like to wear shoes in hotel rooms either. But they're not the cleanest of places hence the slippers.

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    1. Slippers are a great idea! I don't trust hotel room carpets either so if it looks sketch I'll wear flip flops, but slippers are more more appealing!

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Thank you so much for your comment. I'd love to talk books with you!