During my many years of travelling, I’ve come across numerous travel hacks claiming to make my trip a breeze. Some proved to be really helpful, and others were not so great.

I’ve tried and tested a bunch of travel hacks and have narrowed it down to my favourites. Here’s what you need to know before you set off on your next trip.

Get your food first by requesting a vegetarian meal

Ah, the beloved plane food. It’s not exactly everyone’s favourite part of their trip. Especially if you’re seated right at the back of the plane, waiting forever for the meal service to reach your seat.

Luckily there’s a little travel hack you can use to get your food faster. All special meal requests (such as vegetarian, vegan, kosher, etc) are served by the airline first. This means you will get your food before everyone else and won’t risk being stuck with an option you may not like. Just remember to request your special meal before your trip through the airline’s ‘manage my booking’ portal.

Adjust to the new time zone before you leave

No one likes jet lag. Particularly upon arrival when you want to make the most of your holiday. One trick I often do is adjust to the new time zone before leaving home. By shifting your meal times and bedtime closer to that of the new destination, you can avoid getting jet lag when you arrive.

Use seat guru before selecting your seats

There’s nothing worse than getting on the plane, walking to your seat and realising it is at the very back, in the middle, right beside the toilets. Here’s my handy tip. Instead of leaving it up to chance, I always use Seat Guru to find the perfect seat for my flight.

Seat guru uses a colour coding system to rank which seats are the best choice for your flight and which ones to avoid. It also includes advice from previous travellers, pointing out the seats with faulty in-flight entertainment, limited recline and window seats that are missing a window (it does happen, believe me).

Type “OK Maps” into Google maps to save an offline version

Not many people know about this trick and it’s something I’ve only recently discovered. When searching an area on the Google Maps app, you can save an offline version by typing “OK Maps” into the search bar. If you’re unable to connect to the internet, you can still access your downloaded maps and get directions to all points of interest in the area.

The offline version will work exactly the same as regular Google maps showing details of restaurants, shops, train stations, hotels, etc. Just keep in mind, there are limits to the map size you download. It won’t allow you to download an entire map of Australia. Trust me, I tried.

Invest in a water purifying drink bottle

Have you ever been to a country where you’re not sure if the tap water is safe to drink? You’re not the only one. I used to be in the bad habit of buying multiple bottles of water each day and ended up wasting a lot of spending money by doing so. Instead, I invested in a water purifying drink bottle.

I always use a lifestraw drink bottle if I’m travelling to a country where the water is not safe to drink. It means I’m not constantly buying bottled water which is perfect if you’re travelling on a budget. Plus I’m having a positive impact on the environment by not contributing to the use of plastic.

Take a portable phone charger

I mentioned this in my post on what I pack in my carry on. It is honestly so useful that I can’t help but mention it again. This is the one thing I never travel without – my portable charger.

They are particularly handy when you’re out exploring all day and don’t have access to a powerpoint. The charger I use is from the brand Anker. It can fully charge my phone up to four times meaning I’ll never be left with a dead phone whilst out sight-seeing.

Make use of packing cubes

If you’re like me and love having an organised suitcase, then packing cubes will become your new best friend. Many people get confused between packing cubes and compression bags. Packing cubes are more so for organisation, rather than squishing all of your clothes into a compact square.

The packing cubes I use are from Kathmandu. And they are honestly one of the best investments I have made travel wise. They keep my clothes wrinkle free, allow me to save space in my suitcase, and are also super handy for separating clean and dirty clothing during my trip. The smaller ones are also perfect for storing cords, chargers and travel adaptors.

Pack a scarf on every trip

This travel hack is for my fellow female travellers out there. Always pack a shawl/large scarf. It can be used as a blanket, a wrap-around skirt, a head cover when visiting temples, a towel, and a pillow. They can even be transformed into a carry bag if you tie a few knots in the right places.

Go to the departures gate to hail a taxi

You’ve just arrived at your destination so you most likely want to go out and explore right? But the line for a taxi at the arrivals hall is 50 people long. Chances are you don’t want to wait around forever trying to catch a cab. Luckily there’s a trick to avoiding this.

Once you collect your luggage, rather than heading to Arrivals, head straight to Departures. Here you’ll find plenty of taxis dropping off people for their flights. Just jump into one of those and you’ll be leaving the airport in no time.

So there you have it, my top 9 travel hacks for 2019. Do you have any handy tips or tricks to share? Let me know in the comments below.

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