Anonymous wrote:Avoid any type of gimmicky activities that pose as educational experiences. I include in this category food tours, pasta making classes, any staged activities in which the locals fight each other (Mexican wresting, Thai boxing, Japanese sumo, Bolivian chola wrestling, etc), chopstick making classes, and so many more. What a waste.

How is this a "non-obvious travel tip"? To me this is just a preference.

Also, it's not too uncommon for us befriend people who provide these experiences. We as friends - albeit shortterm for 1 or 3 months at a time - exchange learning experiences. I don't see much difference with people on a week vacation paying for what is essentially the same thing.

Take a shower as soon as you get to the hotel, this one applies to almost all trips.

For more specific circumstances, the smartest hack I've stumbled on is if you have a late flight home from vacation, instead of trying to find a locker for luggage or kill the better part of a day at the airport, hire a guide for the last day. Get picked up in the morning *with all of your luggage* and do whatever you're doing that day (in Thailand we tacked on a day trip to Ayutthaya and a visit to an elephant sanctuary, and still made it back to the airport with time to check in, eat and shower in the lounge). Your luggage is secure, you get a full vacation day instead of just a travel day, and you get to hand the reins to someone else. And they'll never let you miss your flight because they get a tip!

I love coming home to a clean house, so picking up and having the cleaning team come through during our time away is amazing. If I think of it, scheduling a basic food delivery for the day of return is also really nice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Avoid any type of gimmicky activities that pose as educational experiences. I include in this category food tours, pasta making classes, any staged activities in which the locals fight each other (Mexican wresting, Thai boxing, Japanese sumo, Bolivian chola wrestling, etc), chopstick making classes, and so many more. What a waste.

What's wrong with food tours and pasta making classes?

Ima guess you're one of these people who sneer at "tourists" and call yourself a "traveler?"

No, just someone who has half a brain.

Defined roles for husband and wife. He gets breakfast, fills water bottles, retrieves or purchases anything I ask, makes sure we have gas, refills small toiletry bottles and gets cash sometime the week before, etc.

I make the packing list, pack the car, do all the last minute checking for IDs, tickets, etc.

At the hotel when we are packing, anything in the foyer can be taken to the car. Kids also have to stay in the foyer once their stuff is packed. That way I can check for lost items only once. The foyers often have tile vs. carpet, so it's easy for everyone to see.

A first aid kit - Tylenol, advil, tweezers, benadryl, oragel, mole-skin and whatever other meds you and your family might need

We only bring carry-on luggage, a wheelie and backpack each. Don't want to deal with losing a bag, and we've been successful for 16-day trips to cold winter locations as well as warm ones. Wear layers, comfortable shoes, and don't overpack!

We have enjoyed cooking classes in both Equador and Portugal, not sure why an earlier poster thinks those aren't good, the ones we attended were excellent

Virtual Mai: Relying on friend(s) / neighbor(s) to receive mail worked for about 4 months. Virtual Mail is the only reliable thing.

+1 to a duplicate set of toiletries that says packed, but this also extends to any other small thing I may need. We have little kids who seem to always get sick when we travel so our toiletry bag includes an ear thermometer and meds. When they were tiny it was an extra baby monitor and noise machine.
Travel chargers + a plug that doubles as a power bank

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m always fascinated by the little habits experienced travelers develop, the things that never make it into travel articles but make a real difference.

For those of you who travel a lot, whether for work or serious vacations, what’s the one non-obvious thing you do that consistently makes your trips better, easier, or more enjoyable?

Not destination-specific, more like personal systems, habits, or small things you always do that most people wouldn’t think of. Examples of the kind of thing I mean: a packing trick, airport strategy, hotel habit, planning approach, or something you always bring that ends up being invaluable.

Curious what the seasoned travelers here swear by.

When going abroad and arriving in the morning, I always get a hotel room for the night before, so I can go right to the hotel and shower/change clothes before heading out. My goal is always to stay up until a reasonable bedtime locally (i.e. about 9 p.m.).

This is such a good one! Trips we have taken to Europe put us there very early in the morning. Getting one room for the night before gives us a place to leave bags, freshen up, and rest if needed.

Anonymous wrote:this seems basic, but i have a 2nd set of toiletries for traveling, this way i never leave something at home accidentally, like tweezers, or a razor or face wash.

This. I also have packing lists, “beach vacation”, business trip carry on only, 2 week road trip, camping trip…. I find these helpful and reuse and update. Makes packing faster when I have written: 2 pants or 1 pant and 1 skirt,,,, and reduces forgetting things.

I have a stressful job. I always plan to take another day or two off after traveling so I don’t start dreading going back to work while I am still on vacation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Avoid any type of gimmicky activities that pose as educational experiences. I include in this category food tours, pasta making classes, any staged activities in which the locals fight each other (Mexican wresting, Thai boxing, Japanese sumo, Bolivian chola wrestling, etc), chopstick making classes, and so many more. What a waste.

What's wrong with food tours and pasta making classes?

Ima guess you're one of these people who sneer at "tourists" and call yourself a "traveler?"

I took a pasta making class in Florence and loved it!

Anonymous wrote:Avoid any type of gimmicky activities that pose as educational experiences. I include in this category food tours, pasta making classes, any staged activities in which the locals fight each other (Mexican wresting, Thai boxing, Japanese sumo, Bolivian chola wrestling, etc), chopstick making classes, and so many more. What a waste.

What's wrong with food tours and pasta making classes?

Ima guess you're one of these people who sneer at "tourists" and call yourself a "traveler?"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this seems basic, but i have a 2nd set of toiletries for traveling, this way i never leave something at home accidentally, like tweezers, or a razor or face wash.

This. Helps me to pack and unpack quickly too.

Same, including travel chargers.

If I drive to the airport I pay for close-in parking and park as close to the terminal as possible in a spot near the door where I will be exiting.

And I fly Delta and use the Delta sky club. Makes a huge difference.