Real World Runaway
Travel Tips

Travel Bloggers’ Best Travel Hacks

TRAVEL HACKSTravel, however amazing it may be, comes with a lot of stress and planning. As lazy humans, of course we look for ways to make the whole process easier. Enter, travel hacks. These super simple tips have been tried and tested by travel bloggers and are guaranteed* to make your trip a whole lot easier!

*As much as I love these tips, I can’t actually guarantee anything.

Take an Extension Lead

This is my ultimate, number one travel hack. An extension lead is way cheaper and easier than buying multiple adaptors and carrying them around. It’s also incredibly handy in a hostel room with limited plugs and multiple young travellers in desperate need to charge their phones. Just remember to bring it with you as it’s pretty impossible to find one with the correct plugs when you’re away.

by Katie from Real World Runaway

Use Solid Toiletries

Solid toiletries are amazing to travel with. They not only reduce plastic, which is great for the environment, but they are smaller and a lot lighter, and last much longer than their liquid alternatives! They also can be taken in carry on baggage, whereas liquid toiletries cannot.

Solid shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, body wash and toothpaste are all available. While they are generally a bit more expensive than liquid toiletries, you more than make your money back as they last for so much longer. To give some idea of time; I took a solid shampoo travelling with me, washed my hair about twice a week and it lasted me over four months. Solid toiletries are perfect for a long backpacking stint when you’re unsure how accessible big shops will be, or for short trips when you’re wanting to save space and weight in your bag!

by Claire from Claire’s Footsteps

Use Google Maps Offline

One of my most helpful travel hacks is to download offline areas to the Google Maps app on my phone before traveling. I don’t always buy a local sim everywhere I travel so I am often out and about without any internet and I almost always get lost or want to find my way to a new place. Having the offline areas already downloaded into my phone means I can use Google Maps while my phone is in airplane mode so that I can find my way around while traveling without incurring huge data fees while abroad. It always comes in handy

by Katie from The Katie Show Blog

Kitekite Falls by Real World Runaway

Keep Valuables in your Bra

Sorry boys, this one isn’t for you. My best travel hack is stashing valuables in my bra – a creative solution for a woman travelling alone! I usually keep a big, visible padlock on my backpack to deter thieves and hide the key in my bra. It’s also a good place to put my phone, so it’s easy to whip out for photos, but hidden away and impossible to snatch quickly.

by Amy from Page Traveller

Take a Binder Clip to Keep Curtains Shut

I like it to be pitch black when I sleep. I don’t want to see any slivers of light in the room when it’s time for bed. The more cave-like, the better. I’ve even been known to put electrical tape over the little lights on chargers that show that they’re on if they’re too bright.
All too many hotel rooms have curtains that don’t quite close all the way though. After being annoyed by lights shining in from the outside, I now carry a binder clip in my suitcase to solve the problem. When I end up in a room with curtains that won’t stay all the way shut, I can just clip them together and block all of that unwanted light out. I get perfect sleeping conditions every time.

by Kris from Nomad by Trade

Always Take Ziplock Bags

Ziplock bags are the one thing I could never travel without. To start with they’re super easy to stuff into a side pocket of your backpack, they’re also reusable so eco-friendly and of course super cheap. They have so many uses you could never list all of them. Things like: keeping food in them, protecting your clothes from leaking cosmetics, using them to put wet/dirty clothes in to separate them from the rest of your pack. The possibilities are endless!
Often they’re water proof so you can also use them as a cheap gadget protecter if you’re doing a water based activity, while still being able to use your touchscreen over the plastic. Keep in mind though that although they will protect your gadgets from splashes, it’s definitely not guaranteed to protect them from a drop in the sea!
by Sarah from The Wandering Welshie

Gardens by the Bay by Real World Runaway

Charge Using USBs

I try to travel with only hand luggage as much as possible, so space saving hacks are a huge priority of mine!  I travel with 2 universal travel adaptors that support both plugs and USB cables and they work all over the world.  The majority of my electronics and cameras can be charged with a USB cable so this eliminates bulky plugs.  I can just carry the leads in a pencil case and they plug straight into the adaptor!

by Kylie from Between England and Iowa

More often than not, I don’t have enough plug adaptors with me and it can be a real pain when I need to charge my phone and my camera. One of my favourites and a hack that has saved me a few times now is to use my phone wire and plug it into the USB slot in the back of the hotel room TV!

by Georgina from Georgina Does

What are your favourite travel hacks? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Katie x

Follow:

Where To Next?

12 Comments

  1. Rajni.gandha
    May 10, 2017 / 10:22 pm

    I definitely vote for the save Google maps offline! That came in very handy for us while traveling to Hana in Maui!

    Reply
  2. Rachel
    May 10, 2017 / 10:42 pm

    Google maps saved my butt in both Iceland and New Zealand – love that feature!

    Reply
  3. Jamie
    May 10, 2017 / 11:05 pm

    Love the Google maps tip – and I use my bra quite often to hide stuff and recommend that!

    Reply
  5. Karen
    May 11, 2017 / 1:56 am

    Some great tips! I particularly like the solid shampoo idea and downloading google maps. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Lisa Jarmina
    May 11, 2017 / 2:19 am

    All very good tips that I use myself on my journey around the world. It’s true: Ziplock bags and offline google maps are your best friend on the road!

    Reply
  7. Katie McIntosh (@katieshowblog)
    May 11, 2017 / 5:31 am

    Wow great collection of tips! Solid toiletries sounds like such a good idea so I’m definitely going to look into that!

    Reply
  8. girlonthegoca
    May 11, 2017 / 1:22 pm

    These are all such great travel hacks! I carry ziploc bags when I travel as well, plus a portable multi-port charging station for all my devices. I’m bookmarking this for the great advice!

    Reply
  10. Alice Ford
    May 11, 2017 / 7:39 pm

    HI Katie, Great combination of travel hacks here. I have quite a few more to add as well. Check them out on my site too.

    Reply
  11. Stephanie
    May 13, 2017 / 9:53 pm

    Great tips. Especially the solids toiletries!
    I have to remember that for my next big trip đŸ™‚
    x

    Reply
  12. abdou
    March 22, 2019 / 5:02 pm

    Glad I enjoyed the post!
    Thanks for sharing such an useful Information

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.