Tips On How To Travel Like A Pro

One of the many things that we men 50 and over should be taking advantage of in this part of our life is traveling. Domestically, internationally, flying or cruising, travel keeps our sense of exploration and  adventure alive and our minds refreshed! Preparation and planning is key to having as stress-free an experience as possible, so we wanted to bring you – Tips On How To Travel Like A Pro – to help you alleviate as many pitfalls as possible.

**We’ve held a few of these travel blogs specifically because of the impact of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. While most of the information remains relevant, we highly encourage you to call ahead and check what (if any) restrictions or limited services are in place within the areas we suggest. Also, check out our blog on Trusted Traveler Programs that will help you navigate airports!**

I traveled for both business and pleasure, the former always seemed to be far less enjoyable. To make each trip a little more palatable, I looked at every way to get me to my destination as quickly as possible. Luckily, I had access to million-miler, live-out-of-your-suitcase type of travelers who quickly schooled me on the basics. Coupled with some new research, we pulled together some tried and true practices with hopes you’ll be able to use these tips in your travel.

Before your trip

This was lesson one for me and may be common knowledge to most of you seasoned travelers, but it is a fundamental that we should at least mention. Make sure and get your points! Every airline, hotel, car rental, and travel site has reward points programs. You’ll be surprised how quickly these add up and these companies offer loyalty discounts to returning customers.

We have affiliate partnerships with Priceline, Southwest, Hilton, Marriott Bonvoy, and National Car Rental since I’ve used most of them in the past and have had great experiences with them.

How To Travel Like A Pro – Planning your trip 

Doesn’t matter if you’re out for business or personal vacation, alone or with family, these tips can save you time, effort, money, and stress during your travels. We will assume that you are already planning with a destination in mind. (But if not, we have plenty of travel blogs you can read up on for ideas!) How to get there, how to get around, and how to get home is usually the first thing you need to address.

Booking sites

There is nothing better than having someone else do the legwork in travel planning, and I’m a HUGE proponent of booking sites. Everything in a travel plan – air, hotel, car – in one convenient package, complete with discounts, deals, and support. I’ve always used Priceline and never had a problem.

Pro tip – A million-miler once told me that he uses a booking site, up to the point of confirmation, then calls the carrier and hotel directly to see if he can find better deals or fewer connections.

Check you insurance coverage before you go

You may require travel insurance, medical insurance, automobile insurance, or all three, depending on where you go. Before you pay for that insurance, check the benefits package supplied with your credit card(s) to see what you are covered for. Rental car, lost baggage, canceled flight, and emergency medical insurance may included with many credit cards. The caveat with most of these cards is that you may have to use the card to pay for your travel in order to be covered.

Make Sure Your Digital Wallet Is Ready to Go

Anything can happen while you’re on the road. Prepare for these situations by scanning crucial documents such as your passport, driver’s license, and insurance policies and saving them to Google Drive, Dropbox, or other secure, cloud-based service. You can also capture images and save them to your phone’s offline storage. It’s a good idea to link at least one of your credit cards to a digital wallet app in case you get pickpocketed or lose your wallet.

Packing

There are so many articles and vlogs about smart packing out there already we didn’t want to simply repeat the knowns, just encapsulate the more common strategies. Those of us who’ve had to put a 30 day supply of everything into a 30 pound rucksack already know the power of “the roll.” But you won’t go wrong with these standards for air travel:

• If possible try to get everything in one carry-on and a backpack, both don’t require checking in. I’ve put an entire week of clothes and a laptop in that combination. To that extent, make sure your clothes are interchangeable.
• Speaking of carry-ons, invest in a durable, 360 degree swivel, lightweight piece. My Samsonite is a bit older, but has endured well through years of airports.
• Pack your clothes in packing cubes (these things are great!) and load your shoes with socks, under garments, t-shirts and anything else that will fit.
• With travel restrictions for toiletries, only bring the necessary accessories and take what your hotel offers as a service. Load these in your backpack that will go under your seat.
• On your trip days, wear the heaviest goods you have.
• For cold-weather trips, bring thermal base-layers instead of a heavy coat.
• Bring clothes that dry quickly so you may wash them on the fly.

Regardless of plane, train, or automobile, efficient packing is a must! Here is a video of “the roll” packing that I mentioned early. Fellow veteran’s will get a kick out of this trip down memory lane.

Before you leave

We have at our disposal technology that can make our travel so much easier if we take advantage of it.

Get or update your travel apps.

As we said earlier, if you don’t have accounts with your carrier, hotel, and rental car providers, it will make your travel much easier to create them and download their apps before your departure. You’ll have the ability to check your flight’s status, connections, and gate numbers to name a few. My Hilton app allows me to check-in, gives me my virtual key on my phone, and check out without stopping by the desk, likewise for the rental car. Utilize that expensive pocket computer and make it work for you!

Trusted Traveler’s Programs

If there was one suggestion I could make that was worth every penny in my travels, it was participating in the Trusted Traveler’s Program. I use TSA Pre-Check whenever I fly and until our domestic situation changes, will continue to do so. For the $85 cost, the convenience and time saved by breezing through the security checkpoints and scanners pays for itself every time.

Final Thoughts on Tips On How To Travel Like A Pro

There really hasn’t been more of an opportune time than now to get back out and see the country! Taking the best the internet has to offer in combination with your travel plans means your itinerary can be delivered to your phone at the click of a button. With a little bit of research and using the available technology, you can time and money for a stress-free vacation.

We hope the information in our piece – Tips on How To Travel Like A Pro, can help you with an informed decision when planning your vacation. As always, if you need something you can’t find here, reach out to us through the Contact page or leave a comment below. Please use our approved affiliate links to explore the options available to you, we appreciate you support!