Travel Tips
Having just traveled out of state for a few days with my family, I have travel tips on the brain. Here are some of my thoughts...
Bring a nightlight. It provides an easy way to find the bathroom in the middle of the night despite room-darkening shades.
Sharing a room? I learned the hard way that sometimes family members are loud sleepers. Having ear plugs on hand is a helpful solution. If you’re sharing your room with others, there’s no way for you to read while they sleep, which can be remedied by the nightlight idea.
Bring your own shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste. It is a rare hotel where you get all 3 in the amount you want, especially if you are traveling with your family. We put all health and beauty aids in Ziploc bags together so we can grab them to be plopped down by the hotel room’s sink easily. Choose versatile pieces of clothing that can be worn in different combinations or that go well together, and try to include some varieties of length to deal with weather changes. Put anything that should be on a hanger up first so there’s time to de-wrinkle a bit.
If you don’t want to unpack items into drawers or you aren’t staying long, grab clothes as you need them. Then put dirty clothes in a pile (like on the floor under the suitcase if placed on a stand). When it is time to pack, the dirty and clean clothes will be separated. You can use plastic shopping bags or the provided drycleaning/laundry bag in the hotel closet to hold dirty stuff separate in the suitcase.
Due to security measures, you probably have to remove your shoes going through the TSA checkpoints. Avoid carrying too many things, heavy or metal belts, or socks and lace-up sneakers. Have children wear easy in/easy off shoes.
Carry a backpack with lots of kiddie amusements to keep the children amused and occupied on the plane, in the car, or in the hotel. Crayons and paper is the simplest and (by my experience) the most popular. Hard candies to suck on, water or juice to combat pressure changes during take off and landing are helpful (but you cannot go through the security with a bottle of water, so buy it once near the gate) . Don’t forget anything your child must have such as a favorite blanket or bunny.
Sharing a room? I learned the hard way that sometimes family members are loud sleepers. Having ear plugs on hand is a helpful solution. If you’re sharing your room with others, there’s no way for you to read while they sleep, which can be remedied by the nightlight idea.
Bring your own shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste. It is a rare hotel where you get all 3 in the amount you want, especially if you are traveling with your family. We put all health and beauty aids in Ziploc bags together so we can grab them to be plopped down by the hotel room’s sink easily. Choose versatile pieces of clothing that can be worn in different combinations or that go well together, and try to include some varieties of length to deal with weather changes. Put anything that should be on a hanger up first so there’s time to de-wrinkle a bit.
If you don’t want to unpack items into drawers or you aren’t staying long, grab clothes as you need them. Then put dirty clothes in a pile (like on the floor under the suitcase if placed on a stand). When it is time to pack, the dirty and clean clothes will be separated. You can use plastic shopping bags or the provided drycleaning/laundry bag in the hotel closet to hold dirty stuff separate in the suitcase.
Due to security measures, you probably have to remove your shoes going through the TSA checkpoints. Avoid carrying too many things, heavy or metal belts, or socks and lace-up sneakers. Have children wear easy in/easy off shoes.
Carry a backpack with lots of kiddie amusements to keep the children amused and occupied on the plane, in the car, or in the hotel. Crayons and paper is the simplest and (by my experience) the most popular. Hard candies to suck on, water or juice to combat pressure changes during take off and landing are helpful (but you cannot go through the security with a bottle of water, so buy it once near the gate) . Don’t forget anything your child must have such as a favorite blanket or bunny.
