Travel Tips

If you’re traveling abroad, there are tons of passport mistakes that might hold you up at security. Some of these mistakes are easily avoidable, while others might just surprise you!

While this seems obvious, it’s also easily overlooked. Ensure your expiration date is far enough in the future because some countries won’t accept passports that will expire in six months!

Expedited shipping will cost you $60, and even then it'll take three weeks to receive your new passport. 

Luckily the correction process is free for typos made to your passport.

Passports don’t automatically update, so when a name change occurs you’ll have to go through the renewal process.

Who knew? Some countries have a requirement for the number of blank pages that travelers must have in their books.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet on your travels isn't the easiest thing. It's best to put a plan in place before you leave. 

Just like when meal prepping for a regular week, think about your meals ahead of time. Pack what you can before your trip. 

Research restaurants and grocery stores near your destination to help you stay on track once you're there. 

Green superfood powder, like the offerings from Amazing Grass, will help you get your veggies on the go. 

How we set ourselves up in the morning can determine how the rest of the day will go. To help ensure that you’ll have a healthy day, add some vanilla whey protein powder to your coffee in the morning. Not only is it super delicious, but it will help tame your hunger.

Eat small, healthy snacks throughout the day to help avoid getting super hungry and binging on something greasy later on.

Being thirsty can feel a lot like hunger, so staying hydrated can help combat those hunger pains.

While you probably know the basic necessities for having an enjoyable flight (ear buds, a blanket, chewing gym, etc.), there are still some items that might make your time inflight even better.

These lollipops will alleviate your inflight nausea.  

For those long flights, give your mouth a fresh burst with these disposable toothbrushes that require no water. 

Many planes now have outlets on them, but for the ones that still don’t, having a phone case that moonlights as a battery pack will help keep you juiced up.

Nothing freshens up your hair after a long flight quite like some dry shampoo.

For travelers who don’t want to walk around with headrests, these zip-and-flip stuffed animals from Kikkerland will turn heads while keeping yours comfortable on the plane. 

If you’re on a long business trip, or even if you just get homesick easily, you can make your hotel room feel a bit comfier with just a few easy moves.

Try to avoid living out of your suitcase. Unpacking your bags will help you feel like your hotel room is more than just a place to crash.

There’s nothing like scents to transport you to your more comfortable place. Get out that just-cleaned hotel smell with your favorite candle (after checking with the front desk, of course).

The most important 'meal' of the day: your morning coffee. Bring your own, and you’ll instantly feel a little bit better.

Nothing will help you feel comfortable quite like your own blanket and pillows.

Are there family members you wish you could bring on your trip? Bring some photos with you!

So long as the hotel’s tv has an HDMI cable, you can stream whatever show you were binging.

Sometimes the inflight movies just don’t cut it. 

And if your flight doesn’t have that nifty backseat TV with tons of options, or if you just don’t want to watch it, having more entertainment options at your disposal will help you zone out and enjoy yourself as much as possible.

• Among Us
• Candy Crush Saga
• Plants vs Zombies
• Unblock Me FREE
• Two Dots

• Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
• Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight Plus

• Pocket
• Offline Pages
• Instapaper

t’s always a good idea to think about how to ensure all of your belongings, whether at home or on vacation with you, are secure and protected while you’re away.

This doesn’t just happen in the movies. If your entire family is on vacation, burglars can sense it. Do a few things to make sure your home still appears to have you in it:

• Put a stop on your mail so it doesn’t pile up.
• Have lights on a timer.
• Have a neighbor or friend shovel your snow in the winter.
• Refrain from posting on social media until you’re back.

Here are a few things you can do to protect the valuables you brought with you.

• Make sure your hotel has positive reviews and possibly an in-room safe.
• Keep all valuables on your person when traveling via plane, train, or bus.
• Keep your cash in stashes rather than all in one place
• Consider travel insurance.

When you’ve got the travel itch but don’t know exactly where you want to go next, ask yourself these questions.

If you’ve only got a week, and it takes an entire day to get to that dream country, you might want to save the vacation for another time. But no worries, there are plenty of closer places you can jet to.

What you want to get out of this trip will help dictate where to go.

Work with your travel advisor to learn the places to go (and those to avoid), as well as the phrases to know. 

Looking for adventure travel? Want to bask in the sun? Your desired extracurricular vacation activities will help guide where to go.

Dreaming of being in the cold? Want to be in the mountains or a big city? Think about the environment you want to spend your vacation in, or ask a travel agent to help you.