How to Be a Happy Traveler: 35 Hacks
genius tips for family trips, packing, jet lag, and the post-vacation blues...
Traveling, for work or fun, is one of the great delights of my life.
I’m from Australia, where pride in our sunburned country coexists with an insatiable curiosity to explore the world beyond its isolated shores.
In three decades of international travel, I've worn an abaya to conduct business in Riyadh, tracked gorillas in Africa, tasted thousand-year-old eggs in China, slept under the stars in Wadi Rum, white-water rafted in Montana, watched bears dance on the street in St. Petersburg, enjoyed an opera in Havana, and kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland! I’ve attended board meetings while gazing at the Eiffel Tower, shed tears at Auschwitz, and hot-air-ballooned in Turkey.
The people I’ve met and the sights I’ve seen have exponentially expanded my capacity for empathy, wonder, and humility—and there are still so many places I’ve never been!
But traveling, no matter how much you love it, can feel like a grueling endurance sport: there’s the complex geometry involved in packing, the emotional roller coaster of traveling with kids, tummy troubles, jet lag, and the dreaded post-vacation blues.
Here are my hard-won tips. And of course, I’d love to know: what are your best hacks for happy travels?!
Family Trip Planning
1. Pre-trip “check-in.” Before every family trip we take, whether it’s for the holidays or summer vacations, my husband, Jim, and I set aside 20-30 minutes the week before we depart to review practical and emotional things. We discuss logistics: who’s packing for whom, who’s handling last-minute details, and what the schedule looks like. But most importantly, we talk about our feelings: our hopes, worries, and expectations for the trip.
2. Family rules. When our kids were little, an important part of pre-trip check-ins was getting on the same page about family rules. We learned the hard way that two parents with different ideas about how much [fill in the blank] was allowed on vacation was a recipe for disaster…
Now that our children are teenagers, we have family conversations (aka negotiations!), often in the car where they’re captive, about screen time and other things, like how many times the kids will be required to dress up “properly,” our expectations around manners during mealtimes, and if we’ll be with extended family, talking politely (and patiently) to older relatives, and helping clear the table.
3. Mid-Trip Review. During our pre-trip check-in, Jim and I plan how often we’ll check in with each other while we’re away. We typically pick a day in the middle of the trip, but when one or both of us feel particularly fragile, we plan daily check-ins to ask each other: “How are you feeling?” We exchange notes on anything worrying or bothering us and voice our needs.
4. Take Notes. On every trip, I keep a running list of what worked, what failed, and ideas for the future. I solicit feedback from every member of the family and consult my notes when it's time to plan the next one, to ensure I incorporate what we've learned, make positive adjustments, and avoid repeating mistakes.
I note everything from ideal flight times (eg, for our annual summer trip to North Carolina, we fly in the morning as experience has taught us that afternoon flights are often canceled—on international trips we choose afternoon arrival times to minimize first-day frazzle), to what to pack (eg, antacids, following my son’s severe tummy cramps one year), and ideal schedules (eg, plan afternoon sightseeing to accommodate teen sleep-ins!).
5. Dream and scheme! As a family, it’s often while we’re on vacation, spending lots of uninterrupted time together, that we daydream about other trips we’d like to take, or things we’d like to do if we return to the same place! It’s helpful to keep a running list of future destinations and ideas.
Packing Tips
6. Take inspiration from Joan Didion and make a master packing list. I keep mine in my iPhone Notes. Unlike Joan, I pack PG Tips tea bags instead of cigarettes and bourbon, but the principle is the same: never start from scratch. The cognitive load of trying to remember everything from memory, every time, is exhausting and leads to forgetting the basics.
7. Keep a toiletry bag permanently stocked. Mine contains face wash, moisturizer, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and a razor. I never pack shampoo, conditioner, or body moisturizer: it’s fun to browse local pharmacies (especially in Europe!) to pick up exotic products.
8. Pack a bottle of Poo-Pourri to place in hotel room toilets. This is especially important and nice to have when sharing a room…
9. Take a mini-medical kit. To anticipate common issues, especially when traveling with kids, I typically include antacids, antihistamines, painkillers, band-aids, cold and flu medicine, and tissues.
10. Pop a lavender sachet (or sprig) or cedar chip in your bag to keep it smelling clean and fresh.
11. Trust the weather forecast! My biggest packing errors have resulted from deluding myself that it will be hotter or colder than the forecast predicts. If you have friends or colleagues at your destination, ask them what they’re currently wearing.
12. Pick a limited color scheme. Three colors, maximum. Make sure everything works together, and if you have time, photograph yourself in each planned outfit (including shoes!) before you pack.
13. Always pack a fleece or a washable, warm sweater. Even in steamy places, air conditioning can bring on the shivers.
14. Place the big, bulky things, such as shoes, toiletries, and makeup cases, into your bag or suitcase first, then fit everything else in around them.
15. Roll, don’t fold. You can use the advanced “Ranger Rolling” technique or simply roll each piece of clothing as tightly as possible to eliminate wrinkles. Stuff small things like socks, underwear, and swimsuits into shoes, and the nooks and crannies left after packing all the big stuff.
16. Repeat this mantra to prevent overpacking: “If I forget it and really need it, I can buy it when I get there!” This is true almost everywhere in the world these days.
Long-Haul Flights
17. Dehydration is the enemy, and water is your ally! Carry your own refillable water bottle, and do not drink alcohol at the airport or on the plane.
18. Eat light and pack snacks. Plane food is typically high in sodium, which worsens dehydration. To prevent "hangriness,” I pack macadamia nuts for salt, crunch, and protein, plus my favorite milk chocolate as a pick-me-up.
19. Pack slippers (pick up disposable ones in hotel rooms!) for wearing to and from the bathroom.
20. Invest in a good travel pillow and blanket. Even Business Class pillows and blankets can be flimsy, so it’s best to take your own. These Trtl pillows are not overly bulky (or ugly!), and I never travel without my trusty White and Warren cashmere throw.
21. Bring everything that helps you sleep, including earplugs and sleep masks. It may be embarrassing, according to my teenagers, but I always pack my mouthguard to prevent grinding my teeth and waking up with a headache.
22. Carry-on essentials. A phone charger; any evening/morning medications and vitamins; and painkillers, just in case. Plus, books, magazines, or a Kindle for when the Wi-Fi/entertainment cuts off: it happens!
Jet Lag Hacks
23. Start your trip well-rested. In the week before a big trip, prioritize your sleep. Arriving at the airport, already running a sleep deficit, makes everything harder.
24. Get outside in natural daylight on Day One. This is, without question, the most effective jet lag remedy available, and it’s free. Jet lag is caused by our circadian rhythm is disrupted when crossing multiple time zones, and sunlight is the best tool to reset our rhythm to the new time zone. Going for a walk outside is the ideal way to achieve this.
25. Eat and sleep on the new time zone immediately. Eat meals at the local mealtime, and stay awake until a reasonable local bedtime. Drink plenty of water and eat unprocessed whole foods to encourage good digestion. Set an alarm to wake at your usual time after your first night’s sleep. Getting your body on a regular schedule is the goal. Many people swear by the Timeshifter app as a useful guide for when to eat and sleep to minimize jet lag.
26. Consider melatonin. There’s ongoing debate about how much it helps, and you should always consult your doctor before taking supplements, but I find that 5mg of melatonin taken at bedtime on overnight flights and for the first week after a long journey helps me sleep and seems to shorten the adjustment period.
27. Don’t nap, or set a strict 20-minute alarm. A longer nap derails your night’s sleep, which undermines everything else.
28. Avoid the urge to over-caffeinate. It’s tempting to drown jet lag in coffee, but too much caffeine too late in the day will sabotage your night. Stick as closely as possible to your usual caffeine intake and timing.
29. Keep alcohol minimal in the first few days. While I know this is not what anyone wants to hear on the first night of vacation, alcohol disrupts sleep, particularly the restorative deep sleep your body desperately needs after a long journey.
Post-Vacation Pick-Me-Ups
I find the main component of post-vacation blues is the sense of letdown after something I’ve long anticipated ends. The antidote? Plan things to look forward to post-trip…
30. Plan an easy, delicious first dinner at home. When I’m organized enough to think about my return before I leave, I arrange something lovely to look forward to that first evening: a meal from our favorite local restaurant, ingredients for a simple pasta I love, or a takeout order already picked out. It gives the return home its own small festivity.
31. Clear your inbox pre-return. A quick pass through your email on the last day of a trip, or on the plane, removes one of the most reliably depressing post-vacation elements. For the bold, there’s also this radical method for managing e-mail while you’re out of the office: announcing that all e-mails received while you’re on vacation will be deleted!
32. Take the luggage straight to the laundry. Unloading dirty clothes directly into the washing machine the moment you arrive is a small act that provides a disproportionately large sense of accomplishment.
33. Leave a buffer day. If at all possible, don’t return home the night before a full workday. A buffer day to unpack, shop for groceries, exercise, and generally reorient yourself is a gift to your future self.
34. Put something fun on your calendar. My favorite pick-me-ups: a dinner reservation at a favorite spot, an exercise class, a catch-up with friends, or a mani/pedi.
35. “Save” a good novel to read. Knowing I have a great book to read when I return from a trip works wonders to lift my mood.
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These are great travel hacks. After losing luggage en route to a wedding, I’ve learned to pack light and not check a bag. My husband and I have also learned to allow a lot more time to get to the airport, park, and get through security. Getting to the gate with time to kill is so much less stressful than worrying about missing a flight.
An elderly friend of my parents used to quote this ditty “I’ve traveled much, and this I knows…Take twice the cash and half the clothes.”
PG Tips are my favorite! Thankfully I married a Englishman. Great tips Cuz! I love you! And your Substack and not just because you are my cousin.