Tips for frequent travelers

I travel a lot for work. If you do too (or if you travel a lot for leisure, because you just sold your company or your grandparents are barons), these tips may help.

  1. Toiletries should never leave your luggage. Get a toiletry bag that fits everything you need, and never take anything out of it, other than to refill/replace. Never put things you keep in your home in your toiletry bag, and never take something out of your toiletry bag to use in your home. Refill/replace the items in this bag before you go home, rather than before each trip, as this will make it easy to leave for a trip at a moments notice.
  2. Electronic accessories should never leave your luggage. Buy an electronics bag (like this one) to keep cables and other small accessories in, and never put things you keep in your home in your electronics bag, and never take something out of your electronics bag to use in your home. Make sure everything either takes USB-C, or has a USB-C converter, so you can charge everything with one type of cable. Keep a pen in this bag for customs declarations and visas on arrival.
  3. Specific accessories to purchase.
    • A high-wattage GaN charger with multiple USB-C ports (search for “240W USB-C GaN charger multi-port” or “120W USB-C GaN charger multi-port” on Amazon). This should be your only device that you need to plug into the wall, because everything else should be chargeable with USB-C.
    • Multiple braided (less likely to degrade) USB-C cables.
    • A Philips Sonic Care toothbrush. Make sure it’s rechargeable with USB-C.
    • Philips OneBlade is my favorite razor. You can buy dongles (like this one) that will make most razors rechargeable with a USB-C cable.
    • A USB-C-to-HDMI cable will allow you to use your iPad, iPhone, or computer, to play movies and music through any hotel or Airbnb television.
    • A USB-A male to USB-C female adapter will allow you to plug your USB-C cables into the USB-A port on your flight.
    • A high-capacity but small travel battery.
    • A compact garment steamer is useful if you wear nice clothes.
    • Buy a folio-style wallet for your passport and credit cards, but avoid leaving your accommodation with these to reduce risk of robbery or losing them. Use Apple Pay and cash wherever possible. Find a credit card that offers fee-free foreign transactions (e.g., American Express Platinum).
    • I keep my cash in a money clip (buy multiple so you can keep different currencies separate for multi-destination trips and currencies you frequently require due to revisits).
  4. Optimise flight times. Flights under six hours should take place during the day and timed so that you can go to bed once you arrive, because it’s usually easier to stay awake on a flight than to have a good nights sleep. Longer flights are best as red eyes, especially if you can afford business class. Buy a sleeping mask and noise cancelling headphones.
  5. Google Fi is the best eSim because it works in every country you’ll travel to, so you don’t need to buy a new one each time. Just use this as your always-on primary or secondary data plan. Note that while it works in most countries, they only sell it in certain countries, so you need to be in a supported market to buy/set it up initially. It’s so good that it’s actually worth flying to one of those markets to set it up. You can transfer it to a new device from anywhere, though, so you only have to do this once.
  6. Apps to use.
    • Flighty is the best flight tracker by far. You can add your friends to automatically see their flights, which helps when meeting people overseas. It will even tell you about delays before they happen.
    • WhatsApp is the most universal messaging app globally. Instagram is also popular. Try to move all of your messaging to WhatsApp to simplify things.
    • ChatGPT is a fantastic travel guide. Tell it the restaurants, bars, cafes, activities that you love in your home city, and ask it to give you comparable recommendations wherever you’re going. You can create a custom GPT or a project (where you can upload your travel plans/documents) to streamline this. It’s also way better than any translation app. Give it a call on advanced voice mode to learn about your destination while walking around the city.
    • Dilims is my favorite time zone conversion tool as it allows you to see many time zones at once.
    • Try to book most travel through a single app for simplicity. American Express or Booking.com are the best candidates.
    • Between Uber and Grab you can easily get a taxi in most countries. This virtually eliminates the risk of taxi scams.
    • Before you travel to a city, follow the hashtag on Instagram and join the local subreddit. Train the TikTok and Instagram algorithm’s to serve you content about the city by searching for tips and watching videos. This will enhance your chances of finding great things to do.
    • Even bad/cringe YouTube travel videos are packed full of useful data, including the general vibe and safety of where you’re going. Look up very specific neighborhoods and streets on YouTube to see if you like the vibe.
  7. Hotels vs. Airbnb. Hotels are almost always best for short stays while Airbnb is ideal for extended stays and large groups.
  8. The best neighborhoods in cities are usually near an Aesop store (especially one that is not inside a mall), so look those up before you book accommodation. There is always good coffee near Aesop. Never stay too close to a Madame Tussaud’s, Hard Rock Cafe, or casino (unless that’s why you’re traveling). Proximity to a subway station is important in many cities.
  9. Most destinations can be tackled in four days. Especially if your next flight isn’t too long.
  10. It’s usually better to stop over for a couple of days and see somewhere new than to have a painful connecting flight. Most airline hubs (Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai) are fun and worth exploring. This is less true in the USA.
  11. Never wear jewelry, including expensive watches, on travel days. Keep this stuff in a small bag in your carry on. You’re at the highest risk of losing valuables during transit.
  12. You can polish leather, including shoes, with facial moisturizer.
  13. Medicine. Always travel with whatever you typically require to treat any illnesses you semi-frequently get (cold/covid/flu, asthma, UTI, sunburn). Foreign pharmacies can be a nightmare.