I’ve made my fair share of travel blunders over the years, like landing in Mexico with an expired bank card or starting a trip wearing new shoes. But I’ve also learned a thing or two along the way. Here are some of my favorite travel tips to help you make the most of your adventures.

Me traveling:
Waiter: “Un Cafe?”
Me: “Oui”
Waiter: “Sucre?”
Me: “Non”
Waiter: “You speak very good French!”
Me: “Gracias!”
Plan Like a Pro
👫 Flying with a buddy? Book one window and one aisle seat in a three-seat row. Chances are, that middle seat will stay empty and you’ll have the three seats all to yourselves. If not, the person in the middle will gladly swap and you’ll sit together. So far, this worked every single time for us.
🕵️ DIY itinerary hack: You can often imitate itineraries of good travel companies and have a much cheaper (and/or better) experience.
For example, if you’re a couple, a 9-day trip to Bali with Itrepid will cost you over 1500 USD, not including flights. The Hubby and I traveled around Bali for 30 days and spent less than $900.
🎧 Extend your library membership. Most libraries offer free audiobooks, movies, and music downloads, so make sure your membership lasts your whole trip.
💰 Found a cute place on Airbnb but it’s a bit too pricey? Try this: search for the main photo of the listing in Google Lens. You might find the same spot on other booking sites for less, with better cancellation policies, or free breakfast.
Pack Smart
🧳 When flying, worry more about the size than the weight of your carry-on luggage. I pack all my stuff into compression cubes that fit into one small but heavy-ish carry-on bag (unless I’m visiting friends and family, then I bring a suitcase of gifts and check it in). This doesn’t quite work on budget airlines; they tend to weigh everything.
🔒 Unlock it in the dark: When using a luggage combination lock with multiple numbered wheels, lock it in a way that you can easily remember how to unlock it in the dark—for example, turn the right wheel twice in one direction and the left wheel twice in the opposite direction. I use this trick on overnight bus rides, flights, during power outages, or when I don’t want to bug people by shining a light on my lock. Plus, it makes you feel like Jason Bourne.
🏖️ Get a Turkish Towel. It’s a bit larger than a typical travel towel but it makes a great beach blanket or a wrap and dries quickly.
🚿 Leave the shaving cream and body wash at home! Hair conditioner is great for shaving, and shampoo can clean your whole body.
👒 Wear a hat: A hat is your travel multi-tool. It identifies you in the crowd when meeting new people (“I’ll be the one in a blue hat”). It shows respect to authorities (take off your hat when you talk to them). You can stuff it with the junk from your pockets when going through airport security. You can store small items in it in a hotel room. You can toss it on your chair to keep your spot. You can soak it in water (or even freeze it) to keep you cool on hot days. Plus it does all the regular hat things.
🔗 Tie your luggage: Get a steel cable (like this one) to tie your luggage to immovable objects like hotel furniture, bus seats, or trees on the beach. Even securing bags to each other works. Imagine someone trying to snatch your bag and three others start dragging behind it! Too big an ordeal to steal.
🎒 Bring a foldable daypack. I use Zomake 25L Ultra Lightweight Packable Backpack, in gray. I stash it in my main backpack when traveling, whip it out on city walks and day hikes, and cram it full of souvenirs on the way home.
📄 Always keep a copy of your travel insurance info on you. If you end up in a hospital abroad, that’s the first thing they’ll ask for.
🧳 Use a shower cap to cover the shoes in your suitcase to keep everything else clean.
💰 Store your cards, cash, and copies of important documents in multiple places in your luggage and on your person. It’s like insurance – if one stash goes missing, you’ve got backups.
📝 Keep your Packing list, Pre-trip to-do list, and Post-trip checklist in your notes app so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel each time you travel. Your future self will appreciate it. I use Todoist and Capacities.io for all my notes.
🍬 Use an empty mint tin or tic-tac box to store small items like earrings or memory cards.
🔌 In a hotel room, always pair small items with big ones. For example, when you take off your ring, put a water bottle next to it. It’ll make it much harder to leave without it. Or put it in a hat.
📸 Carry spare passport photos in case you need to apply for visas or public transit cards that require them.
Stay Well On The Go
💄 When your lips are cracking and chapstick is nowhere to be found, try this trick: Rub a finger on your forehead and use the natural oils to moisturize your lips. For a more romantic option, kiss your lover’s forehead.
👟 Footwear fit test: Before buying shoes, turn them over and place your bare feet on the soles. If your foot fits comfortably without spilling over the edges, they might be the perfect travel shoes.
My Chacos and Altras fit my wide feet perfectly. Keep an eye out for sales; I paid $29 for the sandals and $49 for the sneakers which may seem like a lot but it’s a fraction of the regular cost of these great shoes.
👶 Sunscreen hack: I won’t tell you to “wear sunscreen”. But when you do, go for the baby stuff. It’s often healthier, gentler on your skin, and easier on your wallet.
🤸♀️ Too lazy to exercise while on vacation? Instead of a regular workout, plan to learn a fun, cool, or crazy new skill like a dance move, locomotion flow, or an acroyoga pose. For an added motivation boost, film yourself every few days to see how far you’ve come. On my current European trip I’m learning to do a cartwheel!
🦶 Nature’s best exfoliator: Grab a smooth, round rock from a river and give yourself a quick foot scrub. It works so well I now use one at home as well.
Eat Like A Local
🧊 Take a frozen water bottle on a summer hike. At first, it will keep your snacks cool, and as it melts, you’ll have cold water for drinking.
🍲 Want the best local eats? Follow the local workers at lunchtime. And for snacks, watch where the kids go after school. The food will be cheap, delicious, and authentic.
🚰 If you’re thirsty and tap water in your hotel is not potable, sneak into the hotel gym (if there is one) to get free, filtered water from a water cooler. And nope, you don’t have to pretend to work out; it’s fair game for all guests.
🍔 Check out familiar chains abroad. I had an amazing schnitzel at the IKEA Cafeteria in Slovakia and an Aussie Steak Pie at the Costco food court in Australia. It’s like comfort food with a twist!
Explore Deeper
🍹 Fancy Hotel hack: Want to experience luxury without the price tag? Often, if you buy a drink at a fancy hotel, you can also use the pool, or gym, or see live entertainment. This budget travel tip is a great way to treat yourself without breaking the bank!
🗣️ Learn to say something unexpected in the local language. “Wow, this is amazing! I could eat this every day!” will surely be met with more delight than a “Thank you” or a thumbs up.
🎫 City passes for metros and museums often start ticking when you first use them. Use a 24-hour pass at noon, and you’ve got until noon the next day. Two days of fun for the price of one!
🌿 Try local remedies and wellness practices like Panchakarma in India (like we did), sauna in Finland, mineral baths in Slovakia, massage in Thailand, or forest bathing in Japan.
- 🕯️ Visit a local cemetery. Cemeteries and rituals surrounding death give you a peek into the region’s history and culture.
🌍 For insider travel tips, chat with the locals, but also make sure to connect with expats! They often have more time and resources to explore the country, and they know exactly what a fellow traveler might find interesting and unique. You never know what hidden gems you might discover through their experiences.
🌸 Create a travel journal using local materials. Collect entry tickets, pressed flowers, sand, etc., from your destinations and glue them into a pretty notebook. It’ll be a unique (and almost free) souvenir.
🚢 Go for a boat ride: You’ll get a completely different perspective of Paris from the Seine, Chicago from Lake Michigan, or small Vietnamese villages from the waters of the Mekong Delta.
🌃 Explore the city at night: Take a night tour to see a different side of the city and hear some spooky stories. On one such tour, I learned of the most famous Ghost Train in American history. After Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, a Funeral Train carried his body 1,654 miles from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois. Some nights, it can still be heard barreling through Springfield, with no train in sight. It’s a great way to find some hidden historical gems!
Bonus Travel Tip: Is It Fear?
🌍 Are you always coming up with excuses not to travel even though you’d love to? Money, jobs, pets, kids—they’re all valid concerns. But if you’re really honest with yourself, the biggest obstacle is often fear. Even seasoned travelers can feel the sting of anxiety before stepping out of their comfort zone. I know I do!
The good news is that there are solutions for all these so-called ‘obstacles.’ Countless people have traveled with babies, on a shoestring budget, or while juggling demanding jobs. Learn how they do it, then take that leap and start planning your next adventure!
2 thoughts on “30+ Unusual Travel Hacks: Insider Tips for Smarter Adventures”
We just tried the middle seat trick and it worked! Thanks!
Yay!