Plan your trip like a Travel Genius

Having traveled more than I can count I have learned a few things that everyone should consider when traveling. My travels often require lots of moves (hotel changes, city changes, public transit) and I hate nothing more than to lug heavy suitcases around with me. Especially in Europe where many cities have cobblestone streets (roller suitcases are not fun on those). For this reason I have decided to pack only carry on whenever possible. And you know what? I get better and better each trip so don't expect to be able to change all of the below things overnight. Challenge yourself for each trip to get lighter and smarter.

Below is a list of suggestions to improve your next business trip or vacation both in preparation and packing.

1. CleverLayover.com is a game changer for cheap vacations. They search for separate flights all over the world which can give you a long layover in a city before reaching your destination. This can benefit your budget while also enabling you to check out another city en route to your vacation. I hope that all of you already know about SkyScanner but in case you don't this is also usually the best place to search for flexible vacations. For example, If you don't know where to vacation but you have dates and an airport in which you will leave from then you can type "everywhere" in the search criteria and look up all of the flight options out of that airport based on prices.

2. Check Airline ratings & reviews- If you are looking to book a flight with an airline you haven't flown before I would highly recommend you check some customer reviews of the airline before booking so you know what to expect. AirlineRatings.com has reviews, both good and bad, for all airlines but aside from the negativity it gives you tips. For example: I flew Thomas Cook Airlines for the first time last week and found out through reviews that the in flight entertainment is not the best and that I will most likely have seen the movies they are showing. This helped me prepare my own entertainment (or sleeping pill in my case).

3. Order a special meal- Most airlines hand out the special meals before handing out the meals to the rest of the passengers. If you want to get the food over with so you can get some quality sleep on long haul flights then order a special meal. You can do this on airline websites or by calling them. Just make sure you do this far in advance. Some need at least 5 days notice to provide special meals. Special meals can be vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten free etc.

4. Pack a sleeping pill- If you have a long haul flight it is in most peoples best interest to sleep as long as possible on the flight. It passes the time, it avoids jet lag, it even may help you forget your chair is being kicked by the rowdy child behind you. I do NOT fly without a sleeping pill. No its not a prescription scary drug. It is an over-the-counter pill that simply makes you a little drowsy. This helps me fall instantly to sleep and even though I may occasionally wake up to reposition I am always able to fall back asleep. I would recommend it for flights 6 hours or longer.

5. Buy a TRTL pillow- Speaking of flight comfort, how many travel pillows have you gone through? Look no further. Get ready to amp up your sleep game on your next trip with TRTL pillow. Its not exactly a pillow but its hella better. I just bought one for my last flight and I finally didn't exit the plane with a sore neck! You will never buy anything else and it packs up smaller than many of the neck pillows out there. Also, it just looks like you are wearing a scarf so it's kind of nice incognito sleeping.

6. Ditch the liquids- Another life changer in the security line has been to reduce the amount of liquids I carry. Lush has this awesome shampoo and conditioner bars that you an ditch the liquid junk. Seriously, not just for holidays, this stuff is life changing and should just become your regular shampoo. They are SUPER sudsy (bubbles for days) and are available for different hair types (dry, oily, colored...).

7. Pack a wet bag- Wet bags are great back ups for wet clothes (or THINX). Should your wet bathing suit not have enough time to dry before having to pack up, a wet bag is perfect to store the bathing suit without getting your other clothes wet or stinky. My cousin carries it with her in case she is nervous about any liquids opening up and spilling everywhere she tosses the liquids into the wet bag. They come in many shapes and sizes and you can find them easily online. However, the particular one to the left is for sale (in other patterns too) on Young Vogues website to be shipped anywhere in the US.

8. Always pack a spare expandable bag. You can get these anywhere and any type will do. This particular one is from IKEA but it's not different then other ones you find at competitors.

9. Lighten your load- Ok everyone, here is the hardest suggestion for some of you. Wear your shirts twice. You heard me. Let it go. I can guarantee you that nobody on social media will be able to tell which day you took each photo and that you were wearing your outfit for 2 days. This will cut your packing in half. Oh and while you are at it? Stop packing so many shoes! Here is the shoe formula for a successful trip: 1 pair of sneakers (probably worn on the flight), women: 1 pair of sandal type shoes that could also be dressed up or down (flexibility is key), men: 1 pair of flats that can be dressed up or down. For colder weather switch the sandals with boots that can be dressed up or down. Why do you need to pack those heels "in case" you go out? Let's be real, when is the last time you "went out" while you were on vacation? If you can't turn any of your day outfits into a possible night outfit then you need to revisit your wardrobe (or visit Pinterest).

10. Snap a photo of your passport & save it in the cloud or email it to you. You never know when tragedy may strike. It's unfortunate when your passport gets lost or stolen. The best back up plan to have is to save a photo of your picture page and email it to yourself or save it on a cloud drive (i use Google Drive). This means that no matter where you are you have a way to get your passport photo should you need it.

Luggage:

I have gone through numerous carry-ons trying to find the best bag for each of my needs and found that, oddly enough, the 2 which are the best happen to be from IKEA.

For work trips:

This UPPTÄCKA backpack on wheels is perfect for a work trip for one main reason: The front part detaches (unzips) from the back. This means you can pack your clothes in the back portion and your work things in to front making it easy to separate and bring only your work things to your office, business etc. I personally struggled with packing personal and business at one time. I either ended up packing 1 suitcase and then needing to unpack my clothes when using it for work OR bringing all of my clothes with me to work. The only other option was to pack one back for personal and one for work but then you have to carry around two bags! Now you are technically packing two separate bags but since they zip together and look like one bag you no longer need to sacrifice your leg room for a second bag on your flights. It's also perfectly overhead ready so no need to check.

For Personal trips:

To enable me to pack light (one carry on) I have found the PERFECT backpack. It was really hard for me to buy this because I'm not a fan of the style but the hidden benefits in the back far outweighed the look. Me and 2 of my friends packed for a 11 day trip through Peru only carrying this backpack.

Features:

-One side zipper accesses the inside for easy to reach things like your headphones or liquids in security.

-The opposite side zipper is a separate pocket for your laptop (or travel documents)

-On top of the laptop zipper is another velcro spot for your iPad

-There is an expandable bottom with a separate compartment for dirty clothes, shoes or any additional purchases you may make while on vacation.

The roller top is adjustable and has 2 different hook heights also so you can potentially buy gifts from your travels and still adjust the bag to fit them.

-There is a hollow space in the entire backside which allows the bag to be slid over bars of your other roller luggage for easy carry (if you have other luggage).

This bag has been such a life changer that my boyfriend even broke down and got one for our last trip because of how useful it has been for me.

#traveltips #luggage #packing #vacation #TRTLpillow #lush #IKEA #THINX