A Few Travel Tips

Kia ora everybody! This post is waaaay overdue, my apologies. This semester has definitely been busier than I anticipated. The last time I left off was when I was about to depart from Wellington to Sydney during the mid-semester break. This entire experience was/is the most I have ever traveled solo and I have learned a lot about traveling. Especially if it’s your first time traveling alone or outside the country, it can definitely be daunting. Or even if it’s been a while since you’ve traveled, technology has changed a few things at airports these days. Today I am going to share with you some tips to make travel a little less stressful :) I will definitely be sharing my experiences in Wellington and Sydney too in the upcoming posts!

#1: If you’re wearing a sweater or jacket with pockets, stuff your wallet, phone, keys, passport, etc. in the pockets when going through security. Typically, you’d just place it in a tray and they run it through, however, on busy days, it can be difficult to keep track of where all of your belongings are. I did this every time I went through security and all I had to do was grab my jacket and knew everything would be in there. Didn’t have a problem with security at all.

#2: Utilize airline apps if you can. You’ll be able to check in ahead of time plus, if you’re only bringing a carry-on bag, most of the time you can just walk straight to the gate (after going through security, of course). Unless the airline explicitly advises you to print out a boarding pass, you can skip that and board with a QR code on the app.

#3: Pack light. Trust me, when you’re traveling and going out and exploring, you’re not going to really have time to worry about changing into different outfits. If you’re traveling to another city for just a few days, you’ll probably need, at most, three outfits. It’s a lot easier especially if you only have a carry-on and do not want to worry about airline bag weight restrictions.

#4: If you’re traveling to countries nearby your host country or flying into your host country from the US, be sure to have all of your documents ready. Take some time beforehand to do your research on all files you’ll need. I’ve witnessed other travelers scrambling to find certain documents while checking in for an international flight and it’s definitely stressful. I also recommend a waist/hip bag. It’s easier to just wear it in front where you have quick access to your documents and get through immigration/checking in for international flights a lot less stressful.

#5: If you have to sleep overnight at an airport, the most important thing is your safety. Depending on the time of day, you may not even be in the secured area of the airport so it’s important to keep an eye on your luggage and belongings. What I did was literally sleep on my luggage. Find a well-lit area that’s quiet but others can still see you if they’re walking by. At least, that’s what I did. If anything were to happen, at least there would be other people nearby.

Anyway, these are the tips I have for today. Hopefully at least one of them was helpful! If you didn’t learn anything new, hopefully, it reinforced your knowledge of traveling. Thanks for reading and I will see you all in the next one!

Pictured below: A cool shot of an Air NZ ATR 72-600 at Wellington Intl. Airport :)