Hello, thanks for joining us and welcome to our first blog! At two weeks old, my mom put me on my first airplane to visit my Gram in Miami. My next fight when I was six weeks old… and so on. Like so many people, I have this crazy travel bug. I’m not happy unless I have a list of upcoming flights in my travel app. After a rough two years (I hope you all made it through ok), people are seriously ready to travel. I have some great ‘research’ trips planned for myself this year and I am here to help plan yours!
We know that traveling can be stressful, so before you take off, here are some great tips when flying that will help set you up for success and get your trip off to a great start:
Skip the Long Security Line
- Now that everyone is traveling again, the lines at the airport security have been insane. Bypass that craziness by applying for Global Entry or TSA precheck. You get TSA precheck along with Global Entry but the wait times are pretty long right now. They have made it so you can get an appointment at any airport so be sure to go through the motions, pay the $100 fee and hope for the best.
- Check to see if your credit card pays for it because many of them do.
- TSA precheck is quicker to acquire and good if you see yourself doing mostly domestic travel, not international.
- Some airports, like ATL or LAX, allow you to check the security wait times online before getting to the airport. Check these day of to account for any extra time in lines.
Packing
- I’ll settle the argument. Rolling your clothes is better than folding them. You can fit them in all of the nooks and crannies of the bag. Wear the bulkiest pair of shoes on the plane. Try to only bring a couple of pairs of shoes anyway.
- If you can pull off all black + a pair of jeans, do it! You can wear the same things over and over and no one will notice. Throw in one or two colorful tops for variety and spice.
- Try to not check bags! I recently had to check a bag because my dad made delicious tomato sauce and pickles from his garden. Thank goodness I have American Airlines priority status because the line to check for those who didn’t was over an hour long; I definitely would have missed my flight. If you do need to check a bag and don’t yet have priority status, consider getting to the airport with even more extra time to stand in line.
- If you’re gone for 5+ days, consider doing laundry. It’s great if your vacation rental has a laundry machine. If you’re in Europe, doing laundry is an adventure, but it’s possible. I’ve hung out at a pub in London and a bakery in Paris all while my machines were going.
In the Air
- This is your chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of a million emails and all the social media. Think of flying as peace time. Yes, they offer internet on the plane but it’s expensive and not very good. I used to try to work and would get so frustrated, so I stopped!
- Just about every airline now offers entertainment on your own devices. Make sure you have the latest version of your airline’s app downloaded before you board. Then you can watch tons of movies and TV shows on your computer, iPad or phone.
- Read a book. What a concept? Either a kindle or physical book (although physical books take up space – that’s ok if you followed my “how to pack instructions” above).
Comment with some of your travel tips so we can share them out. Visit us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin to stay up to date and email us at lysa@offyougothen.com to plan your next trip!
Off You Go, Then!
3 Comments
Lynda Stone · April 7, 2022 at 4:00 pm
Great Tips!!
María Llord · April 9, 2022 at 1:27 pm
Thanks for the tips! Have an upcoming trip and can’t wait to put them into practice.
Keep them coming!
Packing & Luggage - Off You Go, Then · April 27, 2022 at 7:30 pm
[…] our last blog post, we talked a little bit about packing but now that travel is really taking off, it’s time to […]