What’s up, everyone? Welcome to this blog. So here are 23 travel tips and travel tricks for 2023. I have been to over 21 different countries, so here are all of the different tips that I’ve accumulated over the years.

01. Travel Experience

Let’s say you got an economy ticket, and usually, on the day of your flight, if you go to the check encounter, they will have upgrades available if the flight is not full. For example, you can pay 500 to go on premium economy or a thousand dollars to get on business class. I did the math, and it is slightly cheaper than if you bought those tickets ahead of time but slightly.

Now, while the checking counter is still open, if you want an emergency aisle seat, you will have to pay for that even though you’re voluntarily saying you’re okay, you know, helping the entire plane get off the plane if there’s an emergency. But if you wait about 15 minutes before the boarding time, you’re at the terminal, and there’s a counter near your gate. You can ask them if you can sit in the emergency seat. If they have not been taken and nobody has purchased them, then they will move you if there’s space available.

Now, the perk of an emergency aisle is that there is more legroom, but sometimes the seats recline farther back. Of course, if you’re sitting in the emergency aisle, you are putting yourself out there and saying you are willing to help if needed. I found that this works when I’m traveling alone because it’s just one seat. Usually, if you’re in a group, it will be a lot harder because there are few emergency seats, and of course, they want to prioritize paying customers.

02. Bring An Empty Water Bottle

Always bring an empty water bottle to the airport. There have been many times when I was so thirsty, and I bought five to six dollars of water from the store. If I had just had an empty water bottle, I could have refilled it from the fountain, or you could have gone to Starbucks and gotten free water there, too.

03. Luggage Size

Now, let’s move on to flight accessories. In terms of my luggage, I have a cute white carry-on luggage, and also, I don’t plan on ever checking it in, so it usually stays pretty clean, but in terms of my medium and my large check-in luggage. I got a dark color because I know it’s literally just going to be flung around left and right.

Practically speaking, I think having two larges makes more sense because you’re paying for the same amount, but the reason why I got different sizes is because I can stick my medium into my large suitcase. So if you ever go abroad and you know you want to bring back a lot of stuff you can go with just one large suitcase with your medium inside then when you come back you’ll have your tip.

I find that duffel bags are very difficult to travel with only because one side gets really tired, especially if you’re taking public transportation around, so I feel like a backpack is a lot easier to carry, but of course, you could put your duffel bag or your backpack on top of your suitcase, and that makes things a lot easier. So I have this base backpack that has a sleeve in the back where it goes right through my suitcase handle.

04. Earplugs

These earplugs are really comfortable. I got a bunch of them from Amazon. I am very sensitive to sound, so I always carry earplugs with me. Wherever I go because you never know if your hotel room is facing a noisy Street or if you’re in Korea and there’s busking or noise-canceling headphones work too. But sometimes, it’s hard to sleep with headphones or earphones on, but the earplugs lessen the sound. It’s not like you can’t hear anything anymore.

05. Suitcase protector

I love this plastic casing that goes around my suitcase, especially when I’m checking it in. It prevents it from getting scratched, and it also protects my suitcase if it’s raining. Although I have a hard shell suitcase, it’s not like it would get wet, but it’s pretty much because I like the fact that it protects it from scratching, and when it’s coming around the carousel, I can notify which one is mine pretty quickly.

06. Compression socks

Now, I haven’t done a study on this, but it helps me, and it makes me feel better knowing I am wearing compression socks, especially on Long flights. It prevents your legs and your ankles from getting swollen, and I heard it’s really good, especially for people who are pregnant and who are more prone to inflammation and blood clots, and that’s going to help with circulation. But we should be getting up and moving often when we’re on a flight anyway, but I think the compression socks help.

07. Turtle pillow

It is a travel pillow. At first, I was skeptical as to whether it would really be comfortable. It’s truly like a neck brace that’s cuter, but you wrap it around your head, and it provides really good support. I was able to sleep for one hour on my flight to Japan.

Usually, I never sleep on a plane unless I am lying down horizontally, and that’s only ever happened once, and I always worry that if I’m leaning on my hand, I’m going to end up, you know, being real close to my neighbour. So, I found that the turtle is much more supportive than a normal travel pillow that goes around your neck and is foamy. Those are very soft and comfortable, but my neck starts to hurt. While the turtle holds it in a good position, I’m also an aisle seeder because I have to pee every hour, so I can’t lean on the window or anything like that.

08. Cordless Battery Pack

It is one of my favorite things to take with me when I’m traveling. I will be out for a long period because this one can plug into an outlet. You don’t need a special cord to charge it, and it comes with three different cores already built in, so you don’t need to bring anything else but this external battery pack. The only downside is that it’s a little big, but it’s flat so that it can fit into any bag, and it can literally charge my phone from zero to a hundred all in one go.

09. Download Your media

Download your media before you get on your flight. I always like to download my Spotify playlist if a song is unavailable on Spotify that I want to listen to BTS. Then, I will put that on my Apple Music to download my podcasts. I can also download Netflix shows so that when I’m on the plane, I have so many of these to entertain me.

10. Liquids in a plastic bag

Make sure to put all your liquid toiletry in a plastic bag. There have been times when my shampoo or conditioner exploded, and you don’t want it to go all over your clothes. So if it does explode because of the elevation, at least it’s staying within a plastic bag that you can also wash.

11. Packing Cubes

Packing cubes really helps me stay organized in my suitcase. I can fit a lot more in my suitcase with my packing Cube. You can also categorize where your things are. So I have one packing Cube for my tops, one packing Cube for my bottoms, a packing Cube for my undergarments, and all of that helps me visually see, okay, I know where all my clothes are. Instead of just digging for what I’m looking for.

12. Wear Your Heaviest Clothes

If you’re worried about whether you’ll have to pay extra for the weight limit on checking in your bag. When I went from Japan to Korea, I found that my bag was too heavy, so I took out my vest and sweater and just wore them.

13. Planning Ahead

Make sure to have a credit card that doesn’t have foreign transaction fees a lot of cards that you use. Whether it’s a debit card or just a regular credit card when you’re traveling, they will add on a three percent charge on top of whatever it is you’re paying for, which adds up. It’s like paying 10 cents for a grocery bag every single time I have the American Express Platinum Card, which is the goat of travel cards. Then I have the built rewards card, and then I have my Sapphire preferred, and I get to Rack all of those points for my future travels.

Now, if you will use a credit card, make sure to pay it off every month. If you are not paying it off and accruing debt, that is playing against you, so do not do that. My American Express Platinum Card gets 5x on travel.

So if I spend 500 on a flight, I will get 2 500 points, which can be applied to my future flights and hotels. And those points add up, and that was one way I could take my mom and me on a business class trip to Korea last year.

I also have a clear NTSA pre-check, thanks to my American Express Platinum Card, but many travel cards out there will provide TSA pre-check or global entry for free. They’ll cover the fee for your clear global entry, and the TSA pre-check has been very helpful for me. I don’t have to wait in lines; I literally pass through it. It’s amazing. The perk of Tuesday’s pre-check is that I don’t know how to take off my shoes, and I don’t have to take out my laptop when I’m going through TSA. It’s the little Things.

14. Digital Copy of Important Docs

Keep a digital copy of your passport or driver’s license somewhere. whether you email it to yourself or, have it saved on your phone, or send it to a friend, because you never know what will happen. And if your phone ever got stolen, your wallet got stolen, or your passport got stolen, or you forget your passport like I did at the airport, I took my brother’s passport and not mine. But it does help to prove that you are who you say you are, especially if you’re in another country.

15. Reserve Things Early

Regarding my flight, I like to book International trips at least six months in advance for domestic flights; I usually book about two to three months in advance. Hotels are usually more lenient in the price unless there is some hot commodity like BTS going to Vegas, where they will triple the price.

Most likely, if you’re traveling, you are going to a place that many other people are going to, and looking up whether a restaurant takes reservations has been a lifesaver. The happy moments where I’ve traveled where we went to a place and the wait was two hours long, and we’re literally just walking around hungry, I like to be aware of where we’re going.

When reserving for restaurants, you can also check if they’re even open on the day you want to go. There have been moments where I’ve traveled, and I’ve gone to a restaurant, and they’re closed on a Monday.

16. Google Sheets For Itinerary

In terms of planning my itinerary, I use Google Sheets or Google Docs. I got this template from my friend, but it’s hour by hour. This definitely comes from my teacher background, where I know how long something should take.

But I am also flexible; spending a little longer at a certain spot is okay. We’ll push things over. That’s totally fine with me. I also made sure that all my documents were available offline just in case I lost service. Like if I’m on public transportation, then I can still check my documents. I can look up the addresses and things like that. I put the address of wherever I am staying on my Apple notes, though, just in case, and that way, I can show the taxi driver like this: Is there going.

17. Pin Location On My Maps

Google also has something called My Maps, and you can pin all these different things you’re interested in doing. I like to color code my pins based on entertainment, food, or sightseeing, and then after I look at where these locations kind of group them together, that’s how I determine what I’m doing this day. If I find that one location has 10 of the restaurants I want to eat at, then I know I need to split that up because I can’t eat at 10 places in one day.

18. Carry A Pen Around With You

Make sure to always keep a pen with you. It’s convenient, especially if you must sign a custom or any form. You don’t want to feel pressured to have to finish things, and you can’t because you don’t have a pen.

19. laundry Tablets

I actually forgot these when I went to Asia this past trip. But it is environmentally friendly and they’re so easy you literally just throw in the tablet and it washes my clothes excellent I use them at home too.

20. Health Vitamins

Maybe because I’m 30, but vitamins, probiotics, and Tums. Whenever I travel, I end up getting a stomachache. I don’t know why. I love food, but sometimes you know the bacteria is just different in other places, so always have probiotics because you can also be easily constipated when traveling. I also have my Tums in case I have a stomach ache, and I also take vitamins to ensure I’m not getting sick from, you know, going out constantly and being surrounded by new people.

21. Toiletry Bag Ready To Go

Have a toiletry bag with your skincare products and toiletries already ready to go. I have yet to unpack this since I returned from Japan because I only need it when I travel. I got double the t use at home, and I stuck it in this toiletry bag. I didn’t do it all at once. It’s a slow, gradual thing. Anything I need to survive it’s already in there.

22. Jet Lag Remedy

If you’re in a place where you’re experiencing jet lag, you need to see sunlight, so right when you wake up, see sunlight. When you’re going to sleep, you need it to be dark. Those things are going to help reset your circadian rhythm and reset your body clock so that it makes it easier. Someone told me it resets about an hour a day; depending on the time difference, that’s how well you will progress.

23. Cash Is NEEDED

Keep emergency cash with you in your wallet. There have been times when I’ve travelled to another country and the public transportation did not accept my card, so I needed cash; otherwise, I couldn’t get on.

Conclution

So I hope these travel tips help you and you have so much fun. Wherever you go, and if you are not travelling and you feel like, oh, I wish I could travel, know that. It’s never too late, and I hope my article helps you feel like you’re exploring with me, too. If you like what you see, please comment below. I’ll see you later.