In many places around the world, tourism is back and in full swing. The United States, for example, expects international visitor arrivals to surpass pre-pandemic 2019 levels in 2025 with 85.2 million.

So in order to make the most out of our holidays, we decided to dig through the internet for useful travel tips and found a few Reddit threads where people have been sharing their favorite packing hacks, smart techniques for managing documents, and other gems. Continue scrolling to check them out!

Read More: “Nobody Wants To Steal It”: 30 Helpful And Clever Tips For Travelers

#1

If you are traveling with your husband/wife, pack one or two of your outfits in his/her bag, and vice versa. That way, if one of you loses a bag, you’ll both still have a change of clothes.

Image credits: loletto

#2

Never forget your Towel.Just about the most massively useful thing any interstellar Hitchhiker can carry. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the beady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it round your head to ward of noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you — daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course you can dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: nonhitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally have “lost.” What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

Hence a phrase which has passed into hitch hiking slang, as in “Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is.

A proud salute to the all-mighty Douglas Adams.

Image credits: thisisnotmyrealemail

#3

Clean up your home/room before you leave. Once you return home, possibly exhausted from all the travelling – you can just crash.

Image credits: CakesForLife

#4

Try the local food! I can’t believe how many people are travelling to foreign places and mainly eat McDonald’s etc.

Image credits: DerThan

#5

If someone tries to hand you something on the street, IT IS NOT FREE. They will expect payment.

Image credits: [deleted]

#6

Make sure you know what vaccinations you might need before going to a foreign country. Trust me…

Image credits: IoSonCalaf

#7

For a trip of a week or more, sit down and figure out what clothes you’ll need and how much money you should bring.

Then bring half the clothes and twice the money. You’ll probably still bring back unworn clothes, and be out of money.

Note: This does not apply to underwear. Bring all of those.

Image credits: Wadsworth_McStumpy

#8

My tip is to download the map of the towns you are visiting. You can do that easily in the Google Maps app. If you have the map downloaded on your phone you can easily find your way around town even if you don’t have any internet connection. It won’t show you the route you should walk from A to B, but through the magic of GPS you will still see where you currently are and if you are moving in the right direction.

Image credits: TheBassMeister

#9

Never keep your wallet in your back pocket.

Image credits: imgur_is_spamming

#10

I know I’m going to get slack for this because Walmart. But I like to put in an order at the Walmart for pick up when we go to Orlando. I order diapers, snacks for the kids, sun screen etc. I pick the order up when we get there. We save $$$ because we have snacks and breakfast at our hotel. Plus then we don’t need to pack diapers and other baby items.

Image credits: Mary_Jayni

#11

If you’re traveling in the US and want to find a good place to eat, ask a cop. They eat out every day, usually at smaller non-chain places.

Image credits: crocoduckhunter

#12

For international travel, I’d say call your credit card/bank ahead of time to let them know what country you’ll be staying in. Make copies of your passport, and know where the embassy is located. Make sure you know the rules, customs and laws of the country you’re visiting. And never put your money in one place, split it up and put it in your front pockets.

Image credits: keluvsorangesoda

#13

Always be aware of your surroundings. If someone/somewhere gives you sketchy vibes, there’s a reason! Don’t ever go near places/people that make you feel uneasy.

Image credits: madboredyo

#14

Pack a complete outfit in your carry-on. Delayed baggage is extremely common and it’s best to ensure you have backup clothes so you can at least wash them without having to hang around a hotel in a robe half of the day just to have some clean undies.

Image credits: Ashiiiee

#15

Be early. Wherever it might be, show up early.

Image credits: [deleted]

#16

Learn a few key phrases in the language of the country you’re in. Ex: hello, thank you, I am lost, where is the bathroom, etc. Have a phrase book handy. Many countries now have a high English-speaking population but you never know. And it makes you look like a more considerate tourist.

Image credits: alexiagrace

#17

For photo equipment or all kind of expensive stuff: put some duct tape on it. If it looks broken, nobody wants to steal it.

Image credits: p0mmesbude

#18

When in unfamiliar places use your phone to take pictures of landmarks that stand out. That way if you want to get back to a certain place you have a picture on your phone.

Image credits: anon

#19

When you pack, roll your clothing. I can fit 10 t-shirts, 12 underwear, 2 sweaters, 3 pairs of pants, a hoodie, socks, and pajamas in a carry-on bag and still have room for books and toiletries.

Image credits: EthelredTheUnsteady

#20

If you’re taking a taxi, always agree on the price before you get in. Cab drivers will sometimes try to rip you off just because you’re a foreigner.

Image credits: Cubanise

#21

Toilet paper. Always have an extra roll in your backpack, you’ll be a hero at least once a month. Also extra socks, dry clean socks are an amazing luxury when travelling.

Image credits: Outspan

#22

Put a big ribbon on your big black suitcase to distinguish it from all the others at baggage claim.

anonymous:

My parents used to travel a lot, and every piece of luggage they owned was emblazoned with a wide strip of bright yellow duct tape. Headed off a lot of problems that way.

Image credits: Scrappy_Larue

#23

Give yourself breaks when traveling. A lot of people try to pack everything in and all it causes is stress.

If you are traveling in a group, give yourself breaks from others. Some people want to do everything together, and that can lead to a lot of fighting.

Image credits: HobbitFoot

#24

Always bring baby wipes. They saved my life in China.

Image credits: Mr_Pat_Bateman

#25

ALWAYS have a list of the belongings in your checked baggage, and make two copies- keep one with you, and leave one sitting on top of your items inside your bag so it’s clearly noticeable to anyone who opens your stuff.

Image credits: perseus287

#26

I’ve got a couple,

1. Always make a photocopy of your passport.

2. For tall travellers. Try get the emergency row seating, I know this one is obvious for frequent flyers but for those who are less experienced, the emergency row seating has more legroom, and will make the flight far more comfortable.

Image credits: Globeninja

#27

Mine is to never use the coffee makers in hotels!

As a former airline crew member – I can’t tell you how often we would use those to wash a pair of socks or underwear. The women routinely washed their pantyhose in them. Gross!

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Image credits: americano22