How to Travel Like a Pro: 15 Essential Travel Tips from Frequent Flyers

Are you a new business traveler who will be joining the ranks of frequent flyers for work? Perhaps you just achieved empty nester status (woohoo) and want to “travel smarter” as you visit family or begin your adventures around the world. Maybe you are a new solo traveler who hopes to discover the smart tips for planning adventures?

Learn the ins and outs of how to travel like a pro from frequent flyers who know smart tips for travel, who have made the mistakes so you don’t have to, and who can’t wait for their next adventure.

Let’s dig in!

15 Essential Travel Tips to Travel Like a Pro

1. Maximize Your Time at the Airport

Discover how to maximize your timing in getting to the airport, passing expertly through security, and arriving at your boarding gate; it becomes a skill to NOT spend a lot of time waiting around in the airport.

Maximizing your travel at the airport involves knowing how to time your arrival just right… and giving yourself for any traffic snafus.

You want to spend as little time as possible going through security, so traveling with carry-on luggage and a backpack should be all that you bring with you.

The best women’s travel backpack for Europe is also my favorite backpack for all kinds of travel and hiking adventures. I think you’ll love The North Face Recon backpack too.

My husband also uses the regular size Recon backpack for travel adventures; he takes the Briggs & Riley Large @Work Tech Backpack when he travels for work.

Tip * Make sure that your liquids are easy to reach if you need to remove them.

If you fly often enough, you will begin to know the drill of removing your laptop as you go through security.

2. Be Quick in Getting to Immigration When Traveling Internationally

On the flip side, when you arrive at your destination (especially if it is an international destination), be quick about getting off the plane and moving toward Immigration and Customs. In fact, take note of the seasoned business travelers and frequent flyers and follow them! If you have a choice between getting behind a business traveler or a family in a line, always choose the business traveler.

The longer you take to arrive at Immigration, the further back in line you will be and the longer you will have to wait. Our family always jokes about walking at “Kline pace” but it is worth the extra effort when moving through the airport.

If you are arriving in a new country, it is quite likely that you will be able to go through the “Nothing to Declare” line for Customs.

All of these smart tips will help you maximize your travel time; tip #7—Enroll in Trusted Traveler Programs—works hand in hand in helping you maximize your time at the airport.

If you are traveling for business, you want to be able to spend as much time as possible with your customer visits. If travel is for pleasure, why spend more time in the airport than you absolutely have to?

3. Learn Packing Hacks for Your “Dopp Kit” or Toiletry Bag

Packing your Dopp kit—a term often used in the US for a man’s toiletry bag—is another one of the essential tips for smart travel.

Your bag or kit should be repacked or restocked as soon as you arrive home in readiness for your next trip. (The same goes for a woman’s toiletry kit.)

Did you know that Dopp kit comes from an early 20th century leather craftsman, Charles Doppelt? His company designed the “Dopp kit” in 1926. The military issued toiletry kits during World Wars I and II, and “toiletry kit” and “Dopp kit” were interchangeably used. Samsonite purchased the Dopp brand in the 70s.

To efficiently keep your Dopp kit or toiletry bag packed and ready to go at all times, purchase travel-sized, dedicated items that always remain in your kit:

• Hair brush
• Deodorant
• Metal Collar Stays
• Fingernail Clippers
• Medicine – Unisom, Advil, Pepto Bismol chewables , anti-diarrheal, cold medicine
• Styling Gel
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• First Aid Items

3. Invest in Quality Luggage

When your travel motto as a business traveler is “another week, another trip”, learn to travel smart with quality luggage. Even when you travel for pleasure, you’ll be grateful for luggage that lasts.

Invest in quality yet lightweight luggage that will last for years. This type of luggage will likely be more expensive, but it will withstand the rigors of frequent travel.

Many folks who are frequent flyers or business travelers, swear by the Briggs & Riley Luggage brand.

Why Briggs and Riley?

• The warranty
• Quality and design is top-notch
• Easy-access outer pockets and an inner system for extra capacity
• Style and confidence for a frequent traveler
• The first company to introduce wheeled luggage in 1970

Mark your luggage with easily identifiable and personalized Luggage Tags that make your suitcases quick to spot.

4. Packing Hacks to Pack Like a Pro

Plan to carry-on your luggage. You don’t need to pack everything! It is essential that you know the carry-on rules and limitations on luggage weight and size. Business travelers are frequent flyers who are notorious for their efficiency in travel.

Don’t over pack.

That’s also a skill of a seasoned traveler. Consider the length of the trip and the business vs. casual clothes that you might need. To avoid packing too many clothes, try packing a color theme for ties and socks or dresses. For example, bring one suit jacket that works with two or three pairs of dress pants.

Keep your essentials and dedicated travel items—fitness shoes, laundry bag, dopp kit/toiletry bag—packed and replenish all items as needed when you return home.

Use the hotel laundry bags for:

• Dirty laundry
• Separating clothes in your luggage
• Tucking shoes inside to keep the rest of your clothes clean
• Transporting damp exercise clothes

In order to conserve space in your luggage, wear a suit jacket as you board the airplane; ask the flight attendant to hang it up for you for the duration of your flight (usually a perk offered in business and first class). They will return it to you as you land, but make sure you are getting the right jacket back!

Chris has gone through the craziness of receiving the wrong jacket back and then trying to be reimbursed through the airlines. Not fun!

If you are traveling in coach, carefully lay your jacket across luggage in the bins above you once the bins are full. Plan appropriate clothing for your downtime and sightseeing.

Additional Smart Tips and Packing Hacks

• Follow TSA Guidelines and keep liquids, gels, creams and pastes under the 3.4 oz size. Keep your liquids together in a Ziploc Quart-size Bag that is easily retrievable from the front pocket of your carry-on luggage at security.
• Roll your clothes as you pack
• Stuff small items such as underwear and socks in your shoes to maximize space.
• Pack your heavy items close to the bottom of your bag.
• Use Ziploc bags in a variety of sizes. Even pack a few empty bags.
• If you like your dress shirts dry cleaned and starched just so, when you pack, fold the shirts and secure them in the built-in garment section.
• Use Packing Cubes. They help to keep your bag organized and similar items together.
• Invest in Travel-size Bottles and Containers.
• When you arrive at your hotel room, keep your luggage and bags off the hotel room floor to avoid unwanted pests.
• Unpack your suitcase when you arrive home. Don’t get in the habit of living out of your suitcase at home too.
• Consider a puffy jacket for cold weather when you travel. It will be warm and easily and compactly stuffs into an outer pocket of your luggage.
• When you can’t be conservative with your shoes as you travel for business, wear your bulkiest shoes when you fly to open up space in your luggage.
• Bring a Light Jacket on the airplane with you.

Here is one of the travel tips to pay special attention to when packing: For those of you who typically plan an outfit where the pants and top match but don’t really go with anything else that you have packed, you need to adjust your thinking when traveling.

Choose neutral pants, dresses, shorts, or capris that will match with more than one shirt and can be worn multiple days before being washed.

You need to realize that wearing the same shirt a couple of times over the course of a trip is perfectly acceptable. Instead? Pack an extra pair of underwear and socks and go light on matchy matchy shorts, shirts (even dress shirts), and pants. Oh, and rolling some of your clothes instead of folding them really DOES keep them less wrinkled.

And in the evening, be sure to hang your clothes back up to keep them from being wrinkled further and to give them a chance to air out.

Use a packing list and follow a routine. Download your FREE International Travel Planner below and easily access the International Packing List for Men and International Packing List for Women

5. Doing Laundry

Consider whether or not you will need to have your clothes laundered while you are traveling.

For a trip one week or less in length, laundry shouldn’t be an issue. If your business (or pleasure) trip will last longer than a week, you may wish to plan for laundry in order to keep your packing to a minimum.

Could you wash a pair of socks in the sink and let them dry overnight? These travel laundry sink packs are pretty handy and conveniently sized.

Will you be traveling long enough that you will need to send out clothes to be cleaned? (You can expect to pay a small fortune for hotel laundry.)

Check on independent laundry services where they will pick up your laundry, launder your clothes, and return the clean clothes for a significantly reduced price over the hotel laundry. (Ask the hotel concierge for tips.)

6. Enroll in Travel Reward Programs

Join hotel, rental car, and airline reward programs early in your travel career. Even if you aren’t frequent flyers for business or pleasure NOW but hope to be one day. Join all of the necessary travel reward programs.

• Hilton
• Marriott
• Hyatt
• Discover Cars

The benefits of these programs roll over into your personal travel as well when you begin planning adventures. Read How to Use Travel Reward Programs to Plan Travel Adventures. Pick a brand for each reward program and maximize your air travel, hotel stays, and rental car points.

7. Travel Like a Pro and Apply for Trusted Traveler Programs

Apply for Trusted Traveler Programs: Global Entry, TSA Precheck, Nexus, etc. to provide expedited customs and security screening.

Many of the travel-oriented credit cards, such as Chase Sapphire and Bank of America, will often rebate one of the trusted traveler programs every few years. Check your card details.

8. Use the Airport Lounge

Check out airport lounges.

You can purchase one-day lounge access, invest in a lounge membership, pay to access a public airport lounge, achieve elite status, or use a credit card that offers airport lounge privileges, ie., Chase Sapphire Reserve offers the Priority Pass.

While not available in all airports, the Chase card may offer you lounge access OR a free meal at a designated restaurant.

Gold status or higher on most airlines (ie., Star Alliance Gold, OneWorld, and SkyTeam) will normally allow you lounge access plus one guest on international flights (but not domestic flights). And while you’re at it, book non-stop flights when possible.

There are plenty of times when non-stop is just not feasible and you will need to connect, especially when traveling to and around Europe.

9. Carry the Necessary Adapters and Cables

Make sure you have the cables, chargers, and adapters that you need. A Universal Adapter will come in handy if you are traveling between various foreign countries with different plugs. One of the packing hacks of frequent flyers is to use an electronics tech organizer for all of your cords and cables. This organizer lets you know at a glance if you have forgotten to pack an item.

10. Pack Snacks and a Water Bottle

There will be plenty of times when you are traveling that you may miss a meal or will only be provided with snacks on a flight.

Friends and family may often consider your ability to fly around the world as frequent flyers for work to be glamorous. But after you miss a few meals or have to order from room service at 10 pm in the evening because that is the only meal you have had all day, you begin to realize that being a road warrior requires tenacity and patience as well.

In order to avoid going hungry, pack a variety of high energy snacks to get you through.

Bring a Collapsible Water Bottle with you and fill it with water once you are through security. Or buy a bottle of water before boarding. Beverage service on medium to longer flights may occasionally be suspended due to weather conditions. Staying hydrated is extra important as you travel.

11. Practice Self Care

Don’t give up your exercise routine and other self-care practices such as meditation and yoga as you travel. In fact, when you are traveling, you may find that it is even more essential to give your mind and body a chance to relax.

Here are a few frequent flyers best travel tips for self-care ideas:

• Schedule a massage or spa treatment while away
• Set aside time to meditate each day
• Read or listen to a book
• Find a favorite podcast to listen to as you take the train from one destination to another
• Get up a little earlier and enjoy the sunrise or visit tourist sites at a less crowded time
• Enjoy nature with a hike
• Plan more outdoor adventures or simply go for a walk
• Disconnect from social media while you travel
• If you are working all day long, do a little sightseeing at the end of your day
• Connect with others or co-workers outside of work

12. Choose a Versatile Backpack or Bag

If you plan to be a frequent business traveler or simply want to travel the world, find a Backpack or bag that accommodates all of your electronics and travel gadgets while also doubling as a work bag once you arrive at your destination and set off to business meetings each day.

One of the best travel tips for successful frequent flyers is to be able to carry your Laptop with possible room for an iPad and a convenient outer zippered pocket for your Cell Phone and other electronics.

Even in your backpack or travel bag, make sure that all liquids are consolidated into one easily accessible quart-size Ziploc bag.

13. Passports and Money

“Keep track of your passport in your travel bag!” say all frequent flyers. In fact, assign a designated zippered pocket to hold your Passport Holder or Wallet and establish a routine of always placing your passport there to avoid losing it.

It is also good idea to keep a digital copy of your passport and other important documents that are stored in a secure vault program on your phone.

If you travel around the world accumulating coins and paper money from different countries, consider that perhaps someday you may return. Keep the money in Ziploc bags labeled with the country’s name once you returned home. When you pack for a trip, grab the currency applicable to where you will be traveling.

Many countries deal in coins for currency, so having a coin purse may also recommended. The benefit is that once you arrive in country, you should have enough cash for a taxi ride.

One of the cardinal travel smart tips is to never use the airport ATMs to withdraw cash. Find an ATM at a local bank for better exchange rates and enhanced security.

Check out more tips in “Plan a Trip to Europe: Essential Advice to Begin Your Travel Adventures” for more detailed information on financial transactions as you travel.

And just one more handy piece of advice: if you travel with an extra credit card, keep it separate from the card you regularly use.

14. Invest in Quality Headphones

A word or two about travel tips and solutions to help with your sleeping AND to block out crying babies, chatty seat mates, and public announcements: invest in noise-cancelling headphones!

Apple AirPods Pro headphones as well as Bose QuietComfort 20 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones are great for their noise-cancelling features.

The benefit to the Bose Headphones is that they are corded and offer less chances of falling out of your ears and getting lost while you sleep. Also, you can plug into the plane’s onboard system to watch movies or listen to music. Both types of headphones are an excellent option.

The mark of a seasoned business traveler or frequent flyers is their ability to sleep on the plane. In fact, sleep is essential as they often arrive in country and hit the ground running to their first meetings soon after they land.

Business travelers and travel enthusiasts alike: find a non-habit forming sleep aid such as Unisom to maximize your sleep time while flying and wear an eye mask.

Even after hours of sleeping with the Bose headphones, you may find they are so comfortable that they do not hurt your ears.

15. Travel With a Portable Charger

Always Always Always keep a CHARGED Portable Charger in your backpack or travel bag for charging devices. You’ll be surprised at how often you will use one as your travel. Be sure to pack the necessary charging cable as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Final Thoughts on How to Travel Like a Pro: 15 Essential Travel Tips from Frequent Flyers

If you are new to the world of business travel, these are great travel tips to begin establishing travel patterns and routines. Even if you have been a road warrior for awhile, you might just find a new idea or packing hack to make your travel experience go more smoothly.

These smart tips for travel are just as applicable to those seeking personal travel experiences and want to build their confidence. The more you travel, the more you will be able to streamline your experience.

What are YOUR travel tips, tricks, and pieces of wisdom?

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