Off-Beat Travel Tips

By VGP Blogger, Rachel

There are plenty of travel tips out there but below are some of my personal, off beat travel tips. Hopefully they can make your next trip a little smoother!

1.       I have a very strategic way of packing.  I roll everything heavy and create a thin layer of those at the bottom of my suitcase.  Then I add layer of bulky things such as shoes or toiletries. Then I stuff the bulky layer with socks and small items to make it flat, and then put another layer of flat clothing such as tops on top. I put tissue paper in between my silk tops to keep them wrinkle free.

2.       To start off my trip, I always take a picture with my phone of my airport parking space number. That way I won’t waste time wandering around the airport lot searching with for my car when I’m tired after a flight home.

3.       If your flight gets cancelled, don’t waste time going to the service desk or counter at the airport. I have all of my airlines phone numbers in my phone so I can quickly call to rebook rather than wait in line behind fifty people. I can’t even count the number of times where I’ve gotten a last seat on the phone where I wouldn’t have if I waited in line.

4.       A few days before a trip, I start taking out cash and breaking it so I have small bills to tip with when on the go. I used to find that I never had small bills for tipping so this will save time in the end to have it on hand.

5.       I used to always wonder why my hands immediately got so dry when on the road. Turns out that the hand soap in most hotel rooms is poor quality and very drying. Packing my own antibacterial hand soap has saved me bottles of hand lotion I used to try and use!

6.       I like to shop for healthy foods on the go such as yogurts and fruit for breakfast that often need refrigeration. If you call ahead, many hotels will kindly empty the mini bar for you before your arrival so you have an empty fridge to use for groceries or dinner leftovers.

7.       When I’m traveling for just one or two nights, I put small amounts of liquids such as facewash or moisturizer in contact lens cases. This saves surprisingly a lot of space!

8.       One of my pet peeves especially when I’m trying to sleep in a different time zone is light in my hotel room. I always pack a clothespin to shut shades tight that may be flapping open.

9.       My travel lifesaver for when I’m feeling run down is Zicam. Zicam is a cold remedy that I commonly take in the form of tablets or a throat spray. The second I start to feel a cold coming on, I take Zicam and it immediately gets me back on my feet. You can find a $2 off coupon online here.

10.   Be pleasant! Kindness really can get you so far when you are interacting with airport, hotel, car rental staff, etc. Even just asking how a person’s day is going is not the usual response they get from hurried travelers, so it will certainly be appreciated!