13 Travel bloggers share their #1 travel Hack!

There are a lot of fantastic travel blogs created by interesting and inspiring people who share their stories, photographs and travel advice with us. Whilst they come from all different walks of life, they all have one thing in common…. they love to travel! Each month I’m getting together with some of the best travel bloggers to ask them a simple question and share their responses with you. It’s also a way for you to find a new site to explore and, hopefully, inspire you to seek out adventure too. You can read their answers to last month’s question, ‘What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?’ here. This month travel bloggers share their answers to the question:

What is your #1 travel hack?

Erin of Explore With Erin

What’s better than a cheap flight? An even cheaper flight! My favourite flight research website, Skyscanner, has the ability to send you price alerts daily. You simply enter your dates and destination and it lets you know if the price is going up or down. Wait for that moment and seize the opportunity!

Skye of The Fit Traveller

My #1 travel hack is to carry snacks. I take snacks to the airport, on the flight and even when I’m wandering around. I find if I have something healthy and satisfying with me I’ll resist the urge to grab something quick and unhealthy. I am one of those people that has to eat regularly so I get ‘hangry’. My husband is well trained in this area and often reminds me to pack a piece of fruit, some healthy granola, or some raw nuts that’s easy to carry and within reach when my energy begins flailing.

Nicola of Polkadot Passport

Following my number one simply little travel tip could possibly save you a WORLD of heartache, so take note…. It’s a simple one- BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS! Time after time, I hear of devastating stories of people having phones, cameras, computers and tablets broke, lost and stolen whilst they are on the road. Whilst travel insurance might save your butt when it comes to replacing those physical items, there is one thing you simply CANNOT replace- the memories stored on these devices.

Whether it’s your camera roll of selfies or holiday happy snap archive, losing something you can’t possibly retrieve is beyond sucky. So, before you leave, back up all your photos on a memory device that you leave at home. Then, whilst you are on the road, try to store your photos in multiple places (SD cards, USBs, across devices) or backup your photos to the cloud so they can’t possibly go missing!

Michelle of Lights Camera Travel

To organise my suitcase, I have a makeup and toiletries bag ready to go that I only use to travel. Air pressure and constant motion can cause contents of tubes to burst so I use a plastic wrap between the lid and the lotion to stop that. I use packing cubes to separate my clothes. I love to wear hats, so to carry those I make a well in the centre of my suitcase contents, lay the hat upside down then fill the inside with more clothes.

Rachel of The Department of Wandering 

My #1 travel hack has got to be using www.goeuro.com to help me search and compare the cheapest and most convenient modes of transport around Europe. Previously, I used to spend hours shopping around the internet in an attempt to find the best deal which was very time-consuming and not all that easy. Not anymore! GoEuro conveniently compares all transport options (flights, trains, buses and cars) in the one place and I often find that it is cheaper and more convenient to take a cheap bus instead of a costly flight, especially for short trips. I also love the fact that I can search by final destination rather than the airport, which is super helpful in determining the total cost of transport.

Louise of Travel The Unbeaten Path

If you are travelling with a baby, wearing the little one is a huge help. Whether you are going through a busy airport terminal or exploring a major city by foot, a baby carrier keeps your precious little cargo safe and comfortable. There are many different types on the market – soft wraps, slings, sturdy backpacks (or you can even fashion your own!) so one will most likely fit your family’s needs and make your trip a lot smoother!

Ting of My Travel Monkey

When you’re travelling it’s hard not to want to take all your possessions with you – well, it is for me! But trying to minimise the number of clothes versus space you actually have can be tough, particularly if you have kids. It’s a simple thing, but rolling clothes makes your packing much less bulky. Plus, I always buy travel-sized toiletries or smaller bottles to decant; wear the largest items including footwear that I want to take; and always have luggage scales close to hand because airlines are pretty stringent about weight these days. It definitely takes the worrying out of the equation when you’re checking in at the airport.

Dariece and Nick of Goats On The Road

We can’t believe that we didn’t know this before, but recently we figured out something when booking flights. Rather than selecting flight only, select flight + hotel, or flight + car. For some reason, a secret tab of other offers shows up! In our test run that we did, a flight with British Airways from Toronto, Canada to London, England was $1,524. But, when we tried it with a car/flight combo, the price was reduced to $1,444. So, not only was the flight $80 less, but you get a free rental car as well! If you just opt to take the car for one day, the flight will cost you even less. Interesting, right?! 

Leah of The Kid Bucket List

Shhhhhh… When proceeding with a booking on some hotel sites you will be offered a FREE room upgrade if you halt the process halfway through and let the page sit for a few minutes without proceeding further (this is to entice the reluctant traveller to follow through with the booking). I discovered this by accident and have consistently found it to work a handful of times with some hotel chains. Say hello to a suite! 

Kirst and Birgit of Sunshine and Gin

Kirst: Whilst I wouldn’t call my ‘hacks’ a huge secret, I always recommend rolling your clothing (you fit so much more in!) and I won’t fly long-haul without wearing my compression tights and taking a sleeping aid. Once I discovered these tricks, it made travelling a lot more comfortable and it reduced my jetlag bigtime. 

B: I always like to be prepared for medical problems and buy the most common treatments before I travel. To save space, cut up the pill packet so you are left with only the cover with the dosage. Then wrap the tablet sheets and the cover in glad-wrap. Safe, secure and it takes up so much less room than the box.

Brooke of Blonde Ambition

My #1 travel hack is zip-lock bags. I bag up most things that go into my suitcase/carry on including my underwear (one bag for bras and one for briefs, plus extra bags for stuff that has been worn); phone and camera chargers; toiletries (to avoid spillage); shoes (to avoid smells); jewellery (mini bags are great to avoid tangles); and my mini-kit of medication (paracetamol, antihistamines, anti-inflammatories etc). And, if you have the larger bags, you can throw in your dirty underwear/t-shirts, add some water and soap, zip it up and swish it around to wash them! 

Kristie of you.theworld.wandering

‘Believe you can and you’re halfway there’.. a perfect travel motto. Whether you’re deciding to venture off solo, making up your mind on where to visit next or simply accepting the invitations of new travel buddies, believe in yourself, back yourself and trust your instincts. Embrace your independence and remember never judge a place on someone else’s perceptions. Making up your own mind and learning for yourself can be empowering and confidence building. So start small, get out of your comfort zone and challenge life as you know it. You never know where it may lead you or who you might meet!

Phoebe of Little Grey Box

My all-time favourite travel hack is something so simple, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t think of it sooner. I travel with a lot of electronics that compete for the power socket at the end of each day, this makes it hard when you’re overseas and have 10 things that need power and only one converter. So, I pack a powerboard. Yup! A dirty old power board. You can pick up a five or six plug one pretty cheap and it means you can charge a number of things at the same time, using only one converter. Simple, but damn effective. 

You can read their answers to last month’s question, ‘What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?’ here.

So, now we’ve heard the  #1 Travel Hacks of our favourite travel bloggers… What is yours? Please share in the comments below and let us know if any of these great tips resonated with you.

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