I'm not gonna lie guys - the learning curve on travel is pretty high. Or at least was for me. After 20 countries, I still do things like go to the wrong terminal, try to carry-on a giant bottle of saline solution and travel internationally with a passport that's two weeks away from expiring.Because I like to live on the edge.
Or I'm too excited reading about Carnivale to be totally on top of my travel plans.
But, the more you travel the more tiny tricks you discover to make your trips cheaper, easier - and in this case - more moisturized.
1) Three ounce versions of all your favorite products
I struggle (mightily) with the TSA's three fluid ounce rule. I'm always transferring potions and lotions into tiny, reused bottles and then I can't figure out what the white stuff is that I put in that old shampoo bottle. After smearing conditioner into my face and sunscreen into my hair, one too many times, I'm bookmarking 3floz.com. A gajillion different products, all travel size! And if you don't need them for travel, it's a great way to test out that really expensive scented lotion before you commit to a big $30 bottle.
2) The Kayak Explore option
Finally (finally!) someone got wise to the fact that sometimes we travelers just want to go - and that it doesn't matter where. This tool enables you to choose your point of departure and your price range, and they'll show you all the places you can go for that much. Genius! For $500 I could fly round trip from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Costa Rica, Seattle, the Bahamas or heaps more places.
3) Lush solid body butter
I have sung the praises of solid shampoo to you before (lasts forever! won't spill! gives you sexy beach hair!) but I didn't know that solid body butters existed. Well, they do, friends. I'll suspect that I'll be hitting up Lush right before my big trip and traveling the world feeling smug that my entire toiletry consists of four different, sweet-smelling bars.
What travel products/services/tricks save your trips?
Got the travelbug? Check out my ebooks and podcasts on making long-term travel a reality! Only $15 forpetessake!
I struggle (mightily) with the TSA's three fluid ounce rule. I'm always transferring potions and lotions into tiny, reused bottles and then I can't figure out what the white stuff is that I put in that old shampoo bottle. After smearing conditioner into my face and sunscreen into my hair, one too many times, I'm bookmarking 3floz.com. A gajillion different products, all travel size! And if you don't need them for travel, it's a great way to test out that really expensive scented lotion before you commit to a big $30 bottle.
2) The Kayak Explore option
Finally (finally!) someone got wise to the fact that sometimes we travelers just want to go - and that it doesn't matter where. This tool enables you to choose your point of departure and your price range, and they'll show you all the places you can go for that much. Genius! For $500 I could fly round trip from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Costa Rica, Seattle, the Bahamas or heaps more places.
3) Lush solid body butter
I have sung the praises of solid shampoo to you before (lasts forever! won't spill! gives you sexy beach hair!) but I didn't know that solid body butters existed. Well, they do, friends. I'll suspect that I'll be hitting up Lush right before my big trip and traveling the world feeling smug that my entire toiletry consists of four different, sweet-smelling bars.
What travel products/services/tricks save your trips?
Got the travelbug? Check out my ebooks and podcasts on making long-term travel a reality! Only $15 forpetessake!
18 comments:
Lush massage bars double up as after sun lotion (and smell much nicer) and Jungle solid conditioner is pretty awesome for travelling too :)
Ooooh! I'm going to have to investigate these solid bars for my upcoming honeymoon!
The Lush link goes to Kayak!
Eeep! Just fixed it - thanks Elle!
I wanna try the body butter!!
I use Lush's solid shampoo when I travel. Because my hair is so thick, the shampoo provided (IF provided) just isn't enough for me.
This post is awesome because next month I'm doing a week on traveling on the blog. Glad to see we have some of the same ideas! I gotta catch up to your 20 countries though! I'ma t 18!
Baby wipes! They are a godsend for long flights - and perfect for taking your makeup off after very long days.
just out of curiosity, what are your 20 countries? I'm counting mine, but it seems you're ahead of me by 3!
Karolina
Karolina, Mine are:
Canada
Germany
France
Brazil
Taiwan
The Philipenes
Thailand
Cambodia
Vietnam
Greece
Italy
Scotland
England
Ireland
Wales
New Zealand
Australia
Fiji
Peru
Bolivia
and starting in October I'll add
India
Nepal
Thailand (again)
Malaysia
NZ and Oz (again because I like them so much!)
This website is also awesome for I-don't-care-where-I-go-as-long-as-I-go trip finding: http://www.farecompare.com/maps/compareDestinations.html
One thing I always bring is a tiny emergency kit of thread, needle, a couple of buttons, safety pins, bobby pins, and more hair ties than I think I'll need. And these little Olay face wash thingies that are durable cloths that you just put a dab of water onto and they foam up and make you feel like a human again. :)
hey there!! i'm a new reader and i adore this post and that picture! too precious.
one piece of advice i learned last month when i was coming from chicago was :
-ALWAYS wear the t-shirt/jersey of the most popular/beloved sports team in the area; it is to your benefit. I was lucky to have bought a cubs t-shirt from a thrift store a few weeks prior and it saved me from paying %50 for an overweight bag, as the man at the check-in counter liked my shirt! :)
Good news! You CAN bring your giant bottle of saline solution!
I work in the airline industry. Because saline solution is "medically necessary" it's not subject to the 3-1-1 rule. Just pull it out, set it in the bin next to your baggie full of tiny liquids, and go on your merry way. (That is, if you want to lug that huge thing around.) :)
Happy travels!
Love the last two, but why buy new bottles when you can just stick label on them and write what it is? much cheaper and you won't make any mistakes like this (you 're not the only one haha!) And I wanted to ask you, do you happen to have any advice on how to handle situations about travelling and volunteering and teaching when you 're a lesbian? I plan to live travelling from one place to another in my life but I am a little worried about things like hostels and people's reactions and countries like Greece (where I 'm from) that they are able to not give you a job because of your sexuality .And if you 're alone.. I can't find anything on the internet only sites for hostels and I don't know anyone who can help. Any input would be greatly appreciated! I love your blog by the way! Wanderlust, vagabonds, thrifting, being nuts and loving every moment!! Aaah that's life for me...!(wink)
Isn't it funny Sarah, that only few of mine overlap? Mine are
Poland (my homeland)
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
Ukraine
Czech Rep
Slovakia
Slovenia
Croatia
Germany
Austria
France
Italy
Vatican
Spain
USA(Texas and New Mexico)
England
Most of them where visited multiple times, but that's one of the things living in central Europe great - it's really close anywhere.
I'd love to add some countries from other continents on my list!
Wow! Thanks so much for the new Kayak link! I've always used the similar function on Priceline (it's actually where I found my cheap Thailand tickets recently), but it's not nearly as user friendly.
I totally agree with your other tips as well, especially the one about the Lush solid products.
One tip I'd add is to always inform your bank about your travel plans. It seems kind of obvious, but so many first time travellers forget to do this, and then have their bank accounts frozen. Also, ask if your bank has a sister bank in the country you're visiting. For example, Bank of America and Barclays bank (mostly in England) are sister banks, so I could use Barclays ATMs without being hit twice with ATM fees. It saved me a small fortune over the time I lived there.
Roselie,
That's a really, really good question. Lots of countries aren't very comfortable with homosexuality. When I lived in Taiwan, two of my lesbian friends had to tell everyone that they were just roommates.
I know that the Lonely Planet guidebooks usually have a section devoted to GLBT travelers and I *think* that there are actually GLBT specific guidebooks.
My gut reaction is that (shitty as this is) you may have to keep your sexuality a bit more "under wraps" than usual until you can get a guage on a county/culture's take on homosexuality.
I can only really tell you what my friends did in Taiwan - when they arrived, they both had short haircuts and semi-tom-boyish fashion sense and got stared at and hassled a bit. They both grew their hair out and started dressing a bit (not a lot) more "femininely" and it helped a lot.
Certainly not an awesome thing to have to do, but for what it's worth, it seemed to help. :)
I'm putting another hand up for baby wipes/those face wash wipe things that come in the square plastic packets! I'm glad I read this or I would have forgotten to buy some before my flight on Friday (FRIDAY!! 2 days away!! Woo!)
And perfume mini sprays, the sample sized ones.
Oh and don't test a zillion perfumes in duty free- the headache that ensues will persist throughout a 14 hour trans Pacific flight!
Thank you for that second tip, I have been waiting for this type of website!! $380 to Hawaii? sweet!
Thanks for answering Sarah! Well we'll see what happens, hopefully the first city that I 'll live abroad will be London so it will be easier. Take care!!
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