15 Tips for Holiday Travel

The holiday season is a time for joy, celebration, and spending quality moments with loved ones. However, holiday travel can often be a source of stress and anxiety. To ensure your journey is as smooth and enjoyable as possible, here are 15 tips for holiday travel:

Bring a portable charger: When you are sightseeing, taking photos, and making memories with your loved ones, the last thing that you want to do is hunt down an electrical outlet to charge your phone.
Research the expected weather in your destination: This can prevent overpacking or needing to buy items at your destination.
Research activities before your trip: Some activities, like touring the White House or dining at popular restaurants in major cities, require reservations weeks or months in advance. Book activities that you want to prioritize, and then leave plenty of room in your schedule to explore and be spontaneous.
Make a packing list: Making and sticking to a list helps prevent packing unnecessary items. You can list out specific items in a spreadsheet or a notebook, or use a general, premade list like this one: peterpauper.com/products/packing-list-note-pad
Make a “most important items” checklist: Immediately before leaving on your trip, check that you have packed your essential items. These are the items on my checklist: passport, medicine, wallet, headphones, laptop charger, and phone charger.
Check your documents: Make sure that your passport/ ID is not set to expire during your trip.
Ship gifts: Instead of lugging gifts in your suitcase, consider shipping them ahead of time to your destination. This is an especially nice touch to send a gift to your hosts in advance if you are staying with friends or family over the holidays.
Stay organized with pouches and packing cubes: Keep chargers and power banks all together in one pouch. Packing cubes neatly separate items within luggage and minimize wrinkles. In my purse, I have a pouch with my most used items: my mask, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, lip balm, tissues, and a Pilot V5 pen.
Make traveling as comfortable as possible: Unless you can sleep through anything, bring earplugs and a sleep mask. Stay comfortable while traveling by bringing a neck pillow and a cashmere wrap or sweater.
Download media in advance: Download ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, movies, music, and/or games to keep yourself entertained while traveling.
Use credit card points for travel: Check out thepointsguy.com, a popular travel website that offers advice on maximizing travel rewards and points.
Download travel apps: Allow push notifications to get real-time information about flight/train delay and cancellations. Use mobile boarding passes to skip the ticketing counter/ kiosk.
Bring protein-dense snacks: ALOHA Organic Protein Bars, pistachios, almonds, and edamame are all high in protein.
Get a haircut right before your trip: It's nice to have a fresh haircut in vacation photos.
Be patient and kind: Remember that you don’t know what other people are going through. Chronic pain, extreme exhaustion, and loneliness sparked by the holiday season are just a few of the struggles that your fellow travelers, TSA agents, and service workers you encounter along your travels may be contending with. You will never regret being kind and even-tempered.

3 Bonus, Work-Related Tips

Set expectations with your workplace: Unless actual lives depend on you being accessible 24/7, set the expectation with your colleagues and clients that you won't be reachable during your vacation.
Use a password manager for shared accounts: Reduce the likelihood of receiving workplace "emergencies" while you're out.
Get offline: Delete work-related communication apps from your phone (Slack, Teams) and log out of your work email.

I was born and raised in Manhattan. In my free time, I tutor the SAT and help students with their college applications through a volunteer opportunity called The Matchlighters Scholars Program. For my full-time job, I analyze data and manage a team of software engineers. My favorite hobbies include traveling, reading, and walking with my Pomeranian Mila and my partner Ervin around City Park.