New year’s resolution: How to travel smarter in 2017

Judith
DreamCheaper
Published in
3 min readJan 3, 2017

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We have put together some of our best travel hacks to help you travel smarter this year. They will help you save money and time to make the most of your vacation.

Hotels

  • Stay at a new, unreviewed hotel for great service that’s also affordable
  • Always ask for a better room or free upgrade upon check-in. About half the time, you get one.
  • If you need a charger or adapter, ask the hotel desk. Almost always, they’ll pull a box of chargers abandoned by previous travelers and you can have your pick.
  • Evaluate the quality of the source before accepting restaurant recommendations of hotel employees. If they tell you at the hotel to mention their name at the restaurant, you can be sure they’re getting a commission.
  • Send your booking confirmation to DreamCheaper to benefit from price drops and last-minute-deals.

Flights

  • If flying with someone else on 3-seat arrangements, book the aisle and window. The middle seat is likely to remain free, or the person who gets it will be happy to trade with one of you. The same works, if you’re travelling solo.
  • In airports, observe the flight crews. They know which places are best to eat at, what monorail to use etc.
  • The first bathroom in the terminal is the most crowded one. Use the next one.
  • Avoid airport security lines with people who look like they don’t travel often (elderly, children, large groups).
  • Ask that your checked bags be marked as “fragile”. This will put them on the top of other bags, so they’ll often come out of the carousel first.
  • Always search the website of the airline too. Often the prices are similar or even cheaper and in case you need to cancel or make a change to your booking, their policies are more friendly.
  • Bring an empty water bottle through security, then fill it from a fountain for free hydration throughout the flight. What countries in Europe you can drink tap water from.

Packing

  • Throw the hotel bar soap into your dirty laundry bag so it doesn’t stink up your suitcase for the rest of your trip. If you don’t have any bar soap lying around, you can also use a dryer sheet.
  • Store your power cords in an old sunglass case. It’ll keep you from losing your damn mind. Trust us!
  • Bring several pairs of underwear in your carry-on — just in case your luggage winds up lost.
  • For long-haul flights bring your toothbrush and paste in your carry-on.
  • Collect travel- and sample-size items so you’ll have them when you need them.
  • Especially when flying with low-cost airlines, carrying a small scale with you comes in handy.

Internet

If you enjoyed this piece, you might also like How to never overpay for a hotel room and The best travel campaigns of 2016.

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