As the world slowly starts to open up, here are 40 brilliant travel hacks that will save you money, time and space in your suitcase!
40 Brilliant Travel Hacks
1. Book Flights Using Private Browsing
If you’ve been checking flight times and prices over the course of a few days, then you might have noticed the prices gradually creeping up. To help prevent this from happening, try using Private Browsing and clear your cookies often.
2. Long Train Journey? Try Split Ticketing
Train journeys can be a mega expense, especially here in the U.K. Splitting your tickets into smaller legs can often save a huge amount of money and you are still covered for every part – no need to get on or off unless you would have needed to anyway.
A quick example (not real but just so you get the idea!):
A ticket from St. Ives to London costs £150.
Break the journey up into smaller legs and it could cost less:
St. Ives to Exter £20
Exeter to Bristol £30
Bristol to London £50
This is perfectly legal as you’ve paid for every part of the journey. Find out more about split ticketing in this post.
3. Take A Power Bank
We rely on phones so heavily now it’s always worth having a backup power source – or even two! Don’t forget to charge them as well as your phone when you get back to the room each night.
Ideas for Your Next Stress-Free Family Holiday
4. Pack Painkillers
No matter where you’re travelling, always take a couple of packs of painkillers with you, especially if you’re travelling to developing countries where there can be much harder to come across.
5. Use an old Glasses Case for Jewellery
Old glasses cases are perfect for pack those little things that you might usually keep in a jewellery box; earrings, necklaces, bracelets and other little knick-knacks such as spare buttons or hair bands.
6. Charge Your Phone on the Bus/Train
Most U.K buses and trains now have charging ports, take advantage of these especially on long journeys, even if it’s only to charge your power bank or spare battery!
7. Look for Coupons and Vouchers
If you’ll be dining out a lot on your holiday then looking for vouchers and coupons can really help bring the cost down. We found this to be especially true when visiting the USA although there are plenty of great meal deals to be had in the U.K too.
8. Buy Waterproofs in Poundland
If you’re heading to somewhere known for its storms or somewhere with lots of water parks you might want to pick these up before you go.
Of course, I’m talking about waterproof ponchos. Perfect for popping on when the heavens open and then slipping back in your backpack afterwards. Also great for water rides and even festivals.
These can cost upwards of £10 / $12 in theme parks so pick some up from Poundland before you go and save some cash!
9. Wear Your Bulkiest Items on the Flight
Want to save some space in your suitcase? Wear your chunkiest knitted jumper and winter coat on the plane. Add a thick scarf which will also double up as a blanket – surely I’m not the only one that finds flights absolutely freezing?
10. Always Pack Shoes by the Wheels of Your Suitcase
If you don’t want your suitcase continually toppling over, consider weight while you’re packing it. Shoes should be at the bottom of the suitcase, close to the wheels. This should stop the suitcase being top-heavy and overbalancing all the time.
11. Choose a Flight with a Layover
When it comes to flights, there are lots of different factors to consider. One is cost and another time. Flights with a layover are often much cheaper and it can be a great way to see another city for a few hours.
However, layovers do massively up your travel time, so do bear this in mind too when booking.
12. Make A Copy of Your Passport
Having a copy of your passport is an essential part of travel and can really help things get sorted more quickly if yours is lost or stolen. Make a copy and laminate it as well as taking pictures of your passport and any other I.D on your phone.
13. Create Your Own Printables
Worried about keeping the kids entertained on a long car journey or in bad weather? Create your own printables which could cover anything from which animals they can see from the car to finding twigs, feather and pinecones on their very own scavenger hunt.
14. Ask For An Upgraded Room
Don’t ask, don’t get right? If you’ve not booked the most expensive room type then there’s no harm in politely asking for an upgrade on arrival, especially if you’re celebrating a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary.
15. Phone Your Banks
Before travelling abroad, it’s always worth making a quick phone call to your bank to let them know the dates you’re going to be away. This can help prevent them from thinking there is fraudulent activity on your account and putting a block on your debit or credit cards.
16. Never Buy Currency at the Airport
The airport is always one of the most expensive places to buy currency, so try not to leave it until the last minute. Plan to change your currency in the days before your holiday at your local bureau de change.
There are also some credit cards that allow you to take out cash abroad without any additional charges. I have one of these and it is great for peace of mind when travelling.
17. Make Copies of All Your Documents
As well as making a copy of your passport, it’s also a good idea to make copies of all your other travel documents. In addition to printing these out, email yourself a copy too – this makes it easy to access even if you lose your phone or luggage.
Travelling as a group? Send someone else a copy of everything too. It takes a few minutes but will be more than worth it if there are any hiccoughs.
18. Is Duty-Free REALLY Cheaper?
It can be tempting to go mad in the duty-free, but before splurging check whether it’s really worth it.
As high street stores and supermarkets pricing has become more competitive, perfume, makeup and even booze are now often the same price as duty-free would be.
19. Add Dryer Sheets To Your Luggage
Adding dryer sheets to your luggage can help your clothes stay smelling nice and fresh while you travel.
20. Hiring A Car? Double-check the Sat Nav Works
I say this from experience. We picked up a hire car, put our destination six hours away into the Sat Nav and went on our merry way.
When the low battery symbol started to flash we discovered the wrong lead was in the car and we had no way to charge the Sat Nav.
We ended up using one of our phones but that only worked for so long before the battery was drained there too.
What should have been a fun road trip ended up taking double the time and our stress was further compounded by bad weather.
Definitely check the charger!
21. Take Spare Prescription Sunglasses
If you’re going somewhere hot and sunny then sunglasses are a travel essential. As someone who usually wears glasses, I always take a spare pair prescription sunglasses with me on holiday as knowing my luck I’d probably end up losing or breaking them if I didn’t and I can’t see a thing without them!
While it is an extra expense, there are several budget online glasses retailers such as Goggles4u and Glasses Direct that offer great cheap prescription sunglasses.
22. Take A Mini Paddling Pool
If your accommodation only has a shower but your children prefer a bath, take a mini paddling pool on holiday with you. It can be blown up and fitted around the bottom of the show unit to create a small bath. It may not be very deep but it’s perfect for getting sandy children clean at the end of the day.
Take a look at this post for more paddling pool hacks.
23. Bring Your Slow Cooker
If you’re staying in your home country in self-catering accommodation (for example, somewhere like Center Parcs) taking your slow cooker is a great idea.
It makes preparing a meal for the whole family much easier – you can chuck all the ingredients in first thing and then come back to a tasty meal after a busy. Plus, it’s cheaper than taking out if you’re trying to stick to a budget.
24. Book Flights at 45-50 Days Before Travel
According to statistics, 45-50 days ahead is the best time to bag a cheap flight and could save you some serious cash.
This does change slightly, however, for very busy times such as Christmas. The best thing to do with Christmas flights is to book as soon as they are released as the prices only usually go up.
25. Charge You Phone Using a TV
Most modern TVs have a USB cable port, so you should be able to charge your phone or other electircals using the the TV in your hotel room. This is a perfect hack if you’ve forgotten to bring a travel plug or yours has got broken or damaged during travel.
26. Luggage Scales
Always check the weight of your luggage (whether that’s a suitcases, hiking packs or condor backpacks) before leaving home to avoid extra charges when you reach the airport.
These are usually cheap to buy and could save you additional fees.
Remember, even hand luggage has a weight limit and airlines can be especially strict if you’re travelling on a smaller plane.
27. Buy Before You Go
If you’re not hugely limited on space, there are so many things it’s cheaper to buy before you head away on holiday. In particular things like buckets and spades, pool floats, armbands and even footballs and other sports equipment will be much cheaper from your local supermarket or B&M than buying at your holiday resort.
See this post for more padding pool hacks.
28. Cover Shoes With a Shower Cap
Worried about shoes making everything else in your case dirty? Use a plastic shower cap to cover them and prevent the shoes from making anything else mucky.
29. Bring An Empty Water Bottle
Add an empty water bottle to your carry on bags and then fill it up once you’ve passed through security. It’ll save you money and helps to reduce plastic waste too.
30. Take a Small Notepad & Pen
You never know when you’ll need a pen and a piece of paper. It’s super handy and you’ll never regret taking one with you.
31. Roll AND Fold
We all know rolling is supposed to save the most room in your suitcase. But doing lots of thin layers like a lasagne is a good way to save space too. Folding is sometimes to better for items that get creased easily. Do a combination of both rolling and folding should give the best results overall.
32. Bring Earplugs
Chuck a couple of cheap pairs of earplugs with you when you travel. Whether it’s blocking out noise on the flight or drowning out traffic in the city centre it’s far better to have them ready than be struggling to sleep at 3 am.
33. Fly Midweek
If you can, try to book midweek flights. These are usually the cheapest. While late-night flights are often cheap, they do also sometimes get cancelled if there aren’t enough passengers (I have a friend who used to work in airport security that told me this) so these are probably best avoided.
34. Budget For Each Day
When we went to the USA for two weeks, we took quite a bit of spending money with us. However, I budgeted for each day based on what activities we were doing and then added a little extra on top. I split into envelopes when we arrived at the hotel and we kept all the money in the safe apart from what we needed each day.
This was a great way to make sure we didn’t overspend but also meant if our wallets got lost or our cards were stolen we still had plenty of money left for the rest of our trip.
35. Eat Like A Local
Often you’ll find the restaurants away from the main tourist areas are much cheaper and provide better value for money and sometimes better service too as they’re not trying to get as many people as possible through the doors.
Do some research before you go or ask in travel Facebook groups to see what you can find.
36. Take Screenshots
Whether you’re looking for a phone number, directions, an address while you’re travelling, always take a screenshot of the info you need. There’s nothing worse than signal dropping out right in the middle of attempting to get somewhere or find something and getting totally lost!
37. Use A Straw To Transport Jewellery
If you’re taking lots of Jewellery away with you, use a straw or part of a straw to thread the delicate chain part of a necklace, anklet or bracelet through, as this will stop it from getting tangled and make it easier to transport.
38. Let Your Kids Plan A Day
When it comes to holidays and travel, I’m definitely a planner. I like to know what I’m doing each day and find it really hard just going with the flow although I do always plan in lots of chill time.
As our daughter gets older, we’re definitely going to let her be involved in some of the planning and asking her what she would like to do. While kids might have some crazy suggestions, they might have some good ones too or have ideas for things you wouldn’t even have thought of.
Even just giving them options between two activities or two places to eat can help them feel involved with the planning and decision making and might help them be more on board with the things they are less keen on.
39. Sign Up To Mailing Lists
Planning a holiday soon? Sign up to the mailing list of any company you think you might book with as they often send out deals, discounts and money off codes which could help you bag a bargain holiday.
40. Pay On Your Credit Card
Paying for your holiday on a credit card offers much more protection should the company go bust or if there any problems with your trip. I have a credit card that I only use for this purpose and it’s set up to pay off my full balance at the end of each month.
