Travel Tips, Hints and Hacks

I have always appreciated when people make a collection of tips, hints, or hacks which encapsulate lessons they have learned in short, pithy statements. I really enjoyed Kevin Kelly’s Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier. Glen Van Peski has numerous “Pro Tips” which get dispensed in person and in his newsletters. Interactions with Glen and the post 83 things i have learned reading /r/onebag have informed and inspired me to write down what I have found useful. The following are my tips for onebag / travel. This is a work in progress and will be updated and cleaned up over time.

Attitude Matters

You aren’t in control. Your plans will be changed by circumstances. It’s best to be flexible and find joy in the surprises that come. In “the moment” these disruptions will be hard, but often they will be your best memories in a few years.
Being gracious and kind will make things better for you and everyone around you.
Assume that people are good and have the best intentions. Re-evaluate if a particular person continues to behave badly. Don’t attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence.
Don’t be afraid of looking stupid. Ask for directions, ask for clarification if you don’t understand, don’t pretend you understand if you don’t. Be curious and learn.
If you don’t like the table in the restaurant, the room in the hotel, whatever, ask if you can change. They might say no, but they might also say “yes”. Read about “Rejection Therapy”.
A major part of travel is to leave stuff behind. The more you leave behind the further you will advance. – Kevin Kelly
Don’t feel bad if you are feeling sick or if you don’t feel like completely filling your day. You can likely return some other time.
Occasionally “pay it forward”… pay for your drink (or whatever) and leave money to cover the next person. You might make that person’s daywho really needs something good to happen.

Disaster Prep

Take pictures of all your critical documents and have it on a cloud accessible drive which doesn’t require your phone for access. This includes IDs, credit cards, important phone numbers, and prescriptions. Make sure the data is stored using zero knowledge encryption and uses multi-factor authentication that isn’t dependent on your phone to access. Ideally this would be a service which uses a token card for authentication / key storage. A decent alternative is to use a service like ProtonDrive which supports revokable, time bound access links with unique passwords. Carry the link and password on a piece of paper you hide. If you lose the paper just invalidate the link and create a new one.
A 100$/100€ bill stash somewhere (hidden wallet, inside phone case, etc) can pay for a taxi ride, food, low cost hotel, etc if your wallets gets stolen or the ATM eats your card. When you have the option, use ATMs that support NFC which can’t eat your card.
Note down the emergency numbers for the country you are going to in advance.

Transit

These days, missing a flight is “expensive” and time consuming since getting the next flight is often challenging. On the other hand, there a much better times to do than sit around in an airport. The amount of time it takes to get through airports vary so there isn’t a universal rule like “get to the airport 2 hours early”. I have found 1 hour works well for me in most airports (e-tickets, no baggage, TSA-Pre). The optimal answer is more complex.
Noise is fatiguing. Bring something to reduce the sound: ear plugs, noise isolating in-the-ear monitors, or active noise canceling headphones.
Thinking hard while travel is fatiguing. Use extended travel to watch or read “airplane” book if you want to be fresh when you arrive at your destination.
No one can reach you when on an extended flight. It’s a great time to have an extended, uninterrupted time if you want to do focused work which doesn’t require large amounts of space.
Ice isn’t considered a liquid by security in the vast majority of countries. You can fill your water bottle up with ice before getting to the airport and get through security. Once past add water. If you like cold water. The other option is to stop at a bar or Starbucks after security and ask for ice. Be nice and leave a tip as a thank you if you didn’t buy something.
Offline maps work even if you don’t have data. Just remember to download the maps before you need them. Sometimes downloaded “offline: Google Maps don’t work. In the back country I like Gaia. Organic Maps and mapy.cz are free and look promising.

Health, Safety, Hygiene

Use at least SPF 30 sunscreen, and reapply if out for multiple hours. Skin cancer is serious and you need to work to prevent it throughout your life. If you wait until you are old to be careful, it’s too late. If you are near the ocean, use reef safe sunscreen to protect the animals.
Protect your lips with lip balm that includes spf protection.
Bring earplugs. Loud noise (>85db), especially for prolonged durations will ultimately damage your hearing. The damage is accumulative, so you won’t notice it right away. Additionally, noise is fatiguing and can disturb your sleep.
Bringing solid soap and deodorant to avoid the hassle of take out liquids for security checks. Matador’s soap bar bag is a good way to avoid bringing fixed size soap case.
Carry a small first aid kit and know how to use the items as well as how to improvise using daily items you carry. A first aid kit is not only about you. You might not save a life, but you might brighten a person’s day or at least relieve a bit of pain when you share. Maybe you will make a new friend.
Single use superglue is great for closing wounds.
You loose a lot of electrolytes after being sick and when sweating heavily which can lead to cramps. If you aren’t in a major city bring one or 2 sachets of electrolytes with you.
With the possible exception of underwear, clothing doesn’t need to be washed after every use and some other personal care heresies
Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle doubles as hand sanitizer and disinfectant for smaller wounds. When sprayed in the armpits of shirts combined with hanging the shirt overnight will kill the bacteria and can reduce the frequency you need to do laundry. – Effective but I don’t bother with this anymore.

Daily Life

Power outlets are often placed in inconvenient locations. If you only change a single device bring an extra long UCB cable. If you charge multiple devices, a small extension cord with moderate length USB cables might be more efficient.
Outlets are often in short supply in airports. Having multiple outlets on your USB power, an extension cord, or outlet expander allows you to share the outlet with others. You might make a friend in the process.
There are times that power isn’t available to recharge your phone which is likely critical to your travel activities. Bring a power bank. Ideally one that has two outlets so you can share if with someone who is desperate. It’s best if the power bank supports flow through, so you can charge it, and whatever devices are connected to it at the same time.
USB-C to other USB connection adapters are typically more compact than bring multiple cables.
Always bring a pen. Often forms need to be filled out and pens will be in short supply. I recommend the Uniball Vision Elite .5mm Pen which was designed to survive pressure/depressuring of air flights.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is right, don’t forget your towel. An ultralight body size towel can also function as a sarong, double as covering clothes in temples, blanket, emergency triangular bandage, sun shade, and when hung from a bunk in a hostel dorm gives a bit of privacy.
A small dry bag can keep items dry in the rain, be used as a laundry bag, stash wet clothes on travel days, hang off your bag to extend volume and protect your things in a down pour. Doing laundry in a drybag works all the time, the sinks are sometimes corroded, can be too tiny or don’t hold water.
Buy/use devices which can be powered either by USB or are 100-240VAC.
Be sure to have the proper power adapter for the countries you will be in. I am very fond of Mogics Adapter MA1 which is a universal adaptor which is just slightly larger than adapters for a single country.
For people in the US, T-Mobile plan is great when traveling internationally to many countries. 5gb of fast data / month with adequate coverage. Using services like Airalo or websites like esimdb.com to purchase e-sims online is fast and easy. The downside is the providers are often second tier or second priority traffic. Typically the best coverage and prices one when you purchase a SIM for a top rated carrier in the country. Often they have kiosks in the airport, but sometimes you have to go into town. In many countries it is much easier to get a physical SIM card rather than getting a e-SIM card.

Packing – General

Your enjoyment of travel is inversely proportional to the size of your luggage. This is 100% true of backpacking. It is liberating to realize how little you really need. – Kevin Kelly
make a packing list and don’t bring anything which is not on the list
When in doubt, leave it out. You will not hear yourself ever say: “I wish I’d brought more stuff”
Pack and repack in the same locations / order to establish a habit. This will significantly reduce the odds you will leave something behind.
Don’t bring the biggest bag you can… you will just fill it. Bring a bag which is just slightly smaller than you think you need. This will help you decide if something is really needed.
Leave your expensive jewelry at home, you don’t need it.
Remember that most places you can re-acquire nearly everything you bring, especially consumables like shampoo, razors, etc. If you are on a long trip only bring what you need for the first few days. For short to moderate length trips bring everything you need so you don’t have to purchase something you won’t use up.

Clothing

Two days of clothing as all you need for any length trip if you wash them as needed, though many people prefer 3 sets. It’s possible to get by with a single set of clothing… but if you are in a shared space with others, this doesn’t work very well.
Normally a pair of trail runners and light sport sandals which are comfortable when on your feet all day is the right combination of footwear.
Layer your clothing to cover variable conditions. Typically a tee-shirt, button down shirt, sweater or light fleece, rain shell, and a packable puffy jacket will provide comfort from below freezing to the hottest summer day.
Take clothing that can be mix and matched. Don’t bring “outfits” which can’t be combined with your other clothing. Many people go non chromatic (all black, grey, or white). Others have colors which blend.
Clothing doesn’t need to be washed after every use.
Use clothing made from fabrics which can drive overnight. This allows you to wear them all day, wash them just before bed, and wear them the next day. A way to speed drying is once you have squeezed out excess water, roll your wet clothing in a towel and then twist and hold the tightened towel for a few minutes.
Merino Wool is costly but for me is worth the price as it is odor resistant, quick drying and feels very nice. 150gsm fabric is perfect for underwear / tees.
Protect your head from sun with a hat or hoodie because skin cancer is a serious risk as you age. Your older self with take you.
People notice what you are wearing much less than you do. Don’t fall pry to the spotlight effect.
Even if your clothing matches “locals”, they can tell you are a visitor from your body language, attitudes, etc. Don’t worry that you look different, but take care to avoid taboos / disrespectful attire. Clothing standards vary, especially when getting out of international class cities.
Dress codes have relaxed since 2020 (COVID). Odds are you don’t need a suit, evening dress, or fancy shoes. Some places in the US and SEA you can get away with sandals, a clean pair of shorts and a nice tee shirt. In most other places, special events, sacred spaces there will have higher standards… typically business casual. In my experience so long as “formal attire” isn’t specified, if you are clean with your hair in order, clothing in good shape (clean, no stains, no holes) is likely acceptable anywhere:
- running shoes
- “normal” pants (e.g. no cargo pockets, zipoff legs, etc), knee length skirt or dress
- button up shirt / blouse, nice sweater, or mono colored tee under a blazer / nice jacket
When in doubt, it’s better to be over dressed than under dressed.

Food

A folding spoon and/or chopsticks are quite useful when you buy food a grocery stores.
Bring a few resealable ziplock or silicon bags for snacks or sandwiches you make from grocery stores or restaurant leftovers.
If you are cooking while traveling, bring some spices and pick up a small bottle of olive oil once you have cleared security.
Don’t buy dairy products from street vendors that have been out all day without refrigeration. There is a good chance you will spend the next day in the bathroom.

Misc

Most cities have free walking tours. The first day in a new city take a walking tour to get oriented.
Staying in a hotel can be less hassle than renting a place, but after 3 days the extra living space, access to a kitchen, laundry equipment, etc is well worth the extra hassle.
TripAdvisor won’t help you find excellent food / lodging / etc, but it can help you avoid bad options.
Take pictures. They will greatly help you remember in the coming years. Many of my strongest good memories persist because I have pictures.