If you subscribe to the TagAlongTravel Highlights newsletter, you’ll be familiar with the feature “Deb Recommends.” Each month, I dispense some hard-earned piece of travel advice or a tip that I acquired while on the road. Not a subscriber? Stop missing out! You can sign-up right now! To show you what you’re missing, I’ve compiled the best travel hacks and tips from the past year and a bit.
Travel Tip: Find My Device
Unpacking from my recent weekend getaway to Toronto, I got a sinking feeling as I reached for the last item in my backpack. Wait a minute, where’s my iPad? In a flash, I realized that I had left it in the seat pocket on the plane.
Ugh!
While I called the airline, which redirected me to fill out an online lost item form, Steve activated the Find My iPad feature from my phone. Before I clicked send on the online form, airport baggage personnel called to say they had my iPad. Wow! Apparently, my device auto-connected to the wifi in the airport lounge, enabling the lost iPad message. In addition to displaying your contact number, activating this feature also disables credit card info in Apple Pay and gives you the ability to track your iPad’s location. Android users have a similar tool. Don’t neglect to set this feature up on your device. In this case, it saved me a lot of trouble!
Travel Tip: Find a Water Fountain
One of my small efforts to stop contributing to our planet’s destruction is to avoid buying bottled water. On our recent visit to Spain, I made a happy discovery when I noticed that my refillable water bottle was empty. On a hunch, I searched Google Maps for the nearest drinking water fountain. Lo and behold, Google scores again! Within a five minute walk, I was able to refill my bottle for free! Good for the environment and my travel budget.
Travel Hack: Hidden City Flight
Say you’re flying from Toronto to Amsterdam. A direct flight might cost $600, but a ticket to Frankfurt via Amsterdam might be only $300. You can book the flight to Frankfurt and then not take the last leg. It’s a move savvy fliers have been using for some time. They’re careful to keep luggage to carry-on because otherwise, their baggage could end up at the final destination.
Steve’s pulled off a variation of this hack a few times when he’s had to fly from Winnipeg to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Boston before returning to Winnipeg. It turns out it’s sometimes cheaper to book a return flight from Winnipeg to Amsterdam via Toronto, and then on the return flight from Amsterdam, ditch the last leg and fly one way from Toronto to Boston and then one way from Boston home to Winnipeg.
Be warned, Lufthansa recently sued a passenger for using the so-called hidden city hack. The airline lost in court, but there is an appeal underway.
*As of the date of this blog post, there is no update on the appeal.
Travel Hack: The Warm Butter Manoeuvre
We’ve all been there. You’ve settled into your seat on the airplane, and now you’re ready to enjoy the meal service (such as it is). When it finally arrives, you’re eager to dig in, but you’re faced with the small annoyance of rock hard butter for your roll. What’s a passenger to do? What you do is place the butter pack on top of your hot meal for 30 seconds or so. Voila! You have easily spreadable goodness.
Travel Tip: Managing Couple Conflict when travelling
Steve and I don’t get into many conflicts. I attribute that to his good nature because frankly, I can be bossy. The rare time we do fight it’s most likely to happen when we travel.
Travelling together requires an extra dose of cooperation and understanding. One of you is going to forget to pack several items of clothing stored in a hotel room drawer. One of you is going to get hangry because the restaurant your loved one chose has an hour-long line up out the door. One of you is going to gripe about wanting to spend the morning exploring rather than watching the other answer emails. OK, those are all examples of my behaviour. Like I said, I can be bossy. Nevertheless, we’ve become better over the years managing our conflict on the road.
The first tip is to be aware that you’re going to experience frustration and a degree of conflict. That in itself helps you to head off a fight. Recognize when it’s happening, breathe, and then take a step back before getting into it with each other. Most of the time the annoyance isn’t worth getting into a lather over.
Spending time apart on the road is also a sound idea. You don’t need to be together constantly when travelling. If someone’s answering emails (Steve), take a walk. Too much together time can be stressful.
Finally, if you’re prone to getting angry when you haven’t eaten (me) for the love of all that’s good, carry an emergency bar or nuts with you.
Travel Hack: DYI Flight Upgrade
Did you know that you can upgrade your in-flight economy meal to a business class meal? It’s true! For a reasonable price, many airlines will allow you to purchase what they’re eating in business class as long as all of those passengers behind the curtain in front of you have ordered and there are extra meals available. Now that’s a class hack!
Travel Hack: The Middle Seat Trick
This is not a new travel hack, but it’s one to remember when booking travel with a companion. If the plane has rows comprising three seats, choose the aisle and window seat where the middle seat is empty. If the flight isn’t full, chances are a single person is not going to opt for a middle seat between two fellow passengers. An empty seat allows you to fly with a bit of extra room. It’s an instant free upgrade! On the other hand, if someone does book the middle seat, that person will likely switch places with one of you so that you can sit together. I had stopped believing in this hack for a while because it just never turned out in our favour. However, on our last two trips, it worked! It doesn’t hurt to try.
Travel Tip: Avoid overpacking by doing this AFTER your trip
With every trip I take my packing technique improves. Maximizing the space in one’s suitcase with feats of compression and expert folding/rolling help, but if your aim is to travel with only a carry-on bag you need to take fewer things with you. It’s not easy. One travel tip that’s helped me is to take an inventory of my suitcase contents after I’ve returned from a trip. What did I pack and not use? Doing this has made me better at taking only what I really need the next time.
Travel Tip: Look like a local when travelling
A dead giveaway that you are not a local while travelling is navigating on your phone while walking to follow directions using Google Maps. I always feel conspicuous as I repeatedly looked at street signs and down at my phone as I make my way through an unfamiliar city. I recently discovered that using earphones, you can rely on turn-by-turn voice instructions via Google Maps. What a revelation! I can look for street names and subway entrances without looking at my phone for the next turn, and I look like every other schlub commuter with earbuds in their ears. Genius!
Travel Tip: Take the Train
Always consider train travel before booking a flight, especially within Europe. Sometimes you can get there cheaper via air, but when you factor the time you spend checking in at the airport and clearing security, train travel is more attractive. The upgrade to business or first class is also a fraction of what you would pay on a flight, and it often includes meal and beverage service. Classy!
I love taking the train. There’s more legroom, it’s easier to get work done, and it’s nice to see the various towns you pass through en route to your destination.
If you enjoyed this post, why not subscribe to Tag Along Travel? Twice a month, you’ll receive an email with links to recent posts.
PIN IT
