Top Travel Hacks

[sexualhelon]

Let's hear everyone's top travel hacks and tips. Drop in anything from how you find the best/cheapest transportation (i.e. flights, trains, buses, etc..), favorite bags, best way to travel with a board, etc...

Flights: I use search engines where I can sort by a date range/months/seasons like SkyScanner, Kayak Explore, Google Flights, and my new favorite Kiwi. Every once and I while I'll use something like SkipLagged. Also, I always check the airline's site to see if it's cheaper or the same price to book directly through them.

Weight workarounds for budget flights: I always travel with one backpack that's within the restrictions. Inside this backpack I have a packable backpack. If I'm a bit over the weight limit, I'll put some stuff in the packable backpack and wear it under a coat. An obvious one is if you're wearing a coat to just stuff things your pockets. You can also stuff clothes in a pillow case and say it's just a normal pillow. If you're traveling with someone else you can always book your tickets separately and leave stuff with them while you check in.

Favorite backpacks: I have and really like this one but it's a bit of a diesel: https://www.tortugabackpacks.com/products/outbreaker-travel-backpack. I also like this one but it's also a bit heavy: https://www.cotopaxi.com/products/allpa-35l-travel-pack?variant=714414424074.

Accomodation: I pretty much always go for AirBnB's. If you're one or more people then you can usually get your own apartment for the equivalent of if you both stayed in a hostel.

Creating Maps I always try to throw a map together of where I'm going. It's often helpful in choosing which area you want to book a place to stay. Google MyMaps is what I prefer. You can check out the one I made for Taipei.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HpGnUTsRXYR0_lgHa5iEBMHK8DRe5s_f&usp=sharing

[tkp]

Flights: I just book em far in advance and compare what it costs to go direct through the airline or a discount site.

Backpack: The Osprey Far Point 70 has been my goto for about 7 years now. It's 2 backpacks in one. It's a 15 L and a 55 L. The 15 can clip to the 55 in multiple ways. Preferred setup for skating through the streets is so it sits in front of me. If I didn't have a digital slr with flashes and multiple lenses, I wouldn't need this bag and would opt for something smaller. The day bag has chest and waist clips which is great. I'm also usually traveling with a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, inflatable pillow (compresses to less than the size of a fist), so this bag has room for all of that. I try to choose flights that allow me to check the 55L bag with my board attached to it.

Sleeping: Major cities check hostels first, then airbnbs, then booking.com. If it's just me and 1 other person and we are renting a car, try to get a van so we can car camp. If it's multiple people and we are renting a car and traveling, scope out camp sites in between major cities (free or cheap).

Maps: Google for sure if it isn't China. Just pin the spots you want to check out and save the map to your phone beforehand.

@sexualhelon, your map is super rad. Makes me want to visit Taipei.

[TheLurper]

Flights: I don't care where I go. I just use SkyScanner to find a deal and that decides where I go. I also compare flights from all the major hub airports within a couple hours of my apartment.

Traveling with a Board: I've given up on trying to take my board on the plane. My suitcase is just large enough to fit my board inside of it. I don't bring anything other than a magazine and some snacks on to the plane.

Going Alone: I was afraid to do big travels on my own for a long time, but I've learned going alone can be awesome. Going alone forces me to interact with the locals and no one snores and keeps me up all night.

Food: I just go to the grocery store and make sandwiches for the majority of my meals. It'd be awesome to be wealthy enough to go out to eat for every meal, but this saves me a ton of money.

Interaction with Locals: Nothing is better than an introduction from a mutual contact, but I like to bring a few videos or a shirt from my local shop and give it to the dudes at the local shop in the city I'm going to. This gets the dudes at the shop to open up a bit.

[Chatbot]

Read somewhere a while ago that you can find cheaper flights through a VPN. Sites price discriminate depending on your location so being hidden prevents them from doing this. Apparently this method works on countless other things too.

[sk84s8n]

Read somewhere a while ago that you can find cheaper flights through a VPN. Sites price discriminate depending on your location so being hidden prevents them from doing this. Apparently this method works on countless other things too.

It's sounds tinfoil hat like but it's really true.  You can also just search for flights using incognito mode, or the equivalent for other browsers.  Prices will go up if they can track your cookies.  Also if you use skyscanners month search you'll get a whole range of prices for an entire month.

[EAT PUSSY!]

Flights: I don't care where I go. I just use SkyScanner to find a deal and that decides where I go.

this ^

the downside is that i have a miss a day or two at work if you have a strict 9 to 5.

[sexualhelon]

Expand Quote

Read somewhere a while ago that you can find cheaper flights through a VPN. Sites price discriminate depending on your location so being hidden prevents them from doing this. Apparently this method works on countless other things too.

[close]

It's sounds tinfoil hat like but it's really true.  You can also just search for flights using incognito mode, or the equivalent for other browsers.  Prices will go up if they can track your cookies.  Also if you use skyscanners month search you'll get a whole range of prices for an entire month.

The VPN isn't going to hide your cookies. Those cookies have hashes that the sites can use to track you. Your best bet would be to use the VPN then have a different browser that is locked down to not accept cookies. There are more insidious tracking mechanisms than cookies though. You should also be using adblock, since one of the non-cookie tracking methods is for ads to run a script which looks at your hardware config. to uniquely identify you.

So, basically, you should have a browser that you use only for booking things and completely clear it before booking something. Also, with using a VPN, sometimes you can get flights cheaper because the currency defaults to the location you're "in". A lot of airlines will also just let you choose what currency. Kind of a hassle, and you may not save more than 5 bucks, but before booking just check what currencies recently fallen the most against your home currency then try to pay in it - assuming you don't have international fees. If it's an expensive flight, it might save you something like 20-30 usd.

[Lloyd Braun]

Get your credit scores in check and use rewards cards to fly for free. Going to Spain next year and only thing I’ll be paying for is food and maybe some Uber’s.