Featured image: This month’s travel tips include clever travel hacks and delicious places to eat! | Photo by andriymedvediuk on Envato

Readers share first-hand advice on packing, budgeting and safety

Curated from our Facebook Group and Email Tips 

This month, our readers share travel tips for packing, budgeting, and staying organized. Curated from the insightful contributions of our community via emails and the Solo Travel Wisdom Facebook group, these tips are designed to make your journeys smoother and more enjoyable. Whether you’re looking to save money, pack efficiently, or stay stress-free on the road, these tips have you covered. Have a travel tip to share? We’d love to hear from you! (You can do that here!) 

Tip: You can download these tips as a PDF or print them using the icons above!

30 Travel Tips to help you travel safely and well

1. I always take a headlamp with me. Better than a flashlight. – Kitty P.

2. Long ago I purchased a powerstrip with a European plug and an all-countries adaptor. Now wherever I go I can charge my iPhone, camera, etc. and power my CPAP at the same time. – Beth H.

3. I always take a few souvenirs from Canada to share with people I want to thank and I also take a few gift bags, tissue paper and thank you cards. No extra weight and saves trying to locate said in a new environment. – Linda P.

4. Many cities have free transport for seniors, including Brazil, Czech Republic and Poland. I am in Prague now and have my passport handy but global entry in my plastic card lanyard to show if stopped as proof of age. – Fetchin G.

5. My tip is when in Tokyo, get a view of the city for free on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observatory. – Carolyn R.

Click here to find even more things to do in Tokyo!

6. I’ve just spent one month travelling solo in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. My top tip is to read the fine print when booking hotels in the USD 100 per night range, as I did. Expect to get very basic amenities. For example, no breakfast, no fridge, no kettle, and no mugs in the room. Rooms are very small and you would be lucky to be able to open your suitcase and leave it open. Also, expect no housekeeping during your stay! The best thing I did was to buy a souvenir tin mug up near the Arctic Circle, which I used to fill up with drinking water from the tap. – Michelle N.

Find the perfect place to stay on booking.com here.

Packing tips

7. If you travel for considerable lengths of time going carry-on, use a clamshell style suitcase which allows for organizing clothing a little easier than single compartment luggage. – Lois P.

8. Get some different-sized packing cubes. Easy to organize socks, undies, and shirts. Makes finding things in your suitcase easier. – Vivian B.

9. Four months in Mexico lugging around three suitcases of clothes and stuff… rookie mistake. Pack your bag then take half back out. – Charlyne M.

10. Put a full-sized garbage bag into the base of your luggage- protects it from wetness and can act as a rain jacket or bag cover. – Tracy T.

11. Don’t forget to put that passport in a small ziplock bag if carrying it in a moneybelt as sweat can damage it! I’m speaking from experience!! – Virginia M.

Solo travel safety tips

12. Print out a copy of everything – hotel reservations, rental car, etc. Take pictures of your license and passport and save them in a secure password app on your phone. Contact your cell phone company for a plan if you travel internationally. – Cheryl D.

13. My first solo travel trip at 50 years old in France taught me I could travel alone, I enjoyed travelling alone and it’s easy, not bad once you get over the original panic – AND at 69 I got rid of most of what I owned, bought a one-way ticket to Barcelona and a one-week reservation there with NO other plans and travelled for six months and it changed my life! – Lila B.

14. As a solo traveller on a budget, I always bring a small doorstop. Makes me feel secure in a one or two-star hotel. Safety first. – Sandy K.

15. Put some emergency dollars in small denominations under the insole of your boots – nobody ever looks there. – Fiona N.

16. Reminder to check which credit cards don’t have international fees. I forgot all about it this last trip & boy did those fees add up. 🤦🏼‍♀️ – Makoa N.

Use Wise to avoid international transaction fees when you travel. Learn more here!

17. I took a recent solo trip to Germany. Our tour Director gave us a great tip for remembering to check your safe on the day you check out: put one shoe of the pair that you’re planning to wear that day into the safe. You won’t forget to check it! – Anna Griffin.

18. If you are travelling in the US or abroad and get in a jam, find the nearest Irish pub. Always folks who speak English and are more than willing to help out. This saved me in Frankfurt, and here in the States! 🍀💕 – Heather M.

19. A separate wallet for the day’s spending on a travel day. Any significant cash/cards/passport in a money belt depending on the safety of where I am. I keep one small coin purse with a debit card and what I expect to reasonably spend during the day in a pocket or in my handbag. – Debra K.

Clothing tips

20. Take a short plastic clothesline and a few plastic clothespins to hang your hand-washed bras and undies. I use the clothespins for hanging all sorts of things, especially if my room has hooks. And the pins have a hole; after using a facemask, I always pull off the elastic strings, and then I tie some to the clothespins for hanging on hooks. – Cathie M

21. Unless it’s not at all gonna come in handy, always bring a bathing suit, you never know! I am at a small historical hotel in Vancouver, and they have a sauna I didn’t know about! – Nat H.

22. A couple of bandanas. Great as picnic napkins, face cloths, emergency hankies—so multipurpose! Hand-wash in a sink and they dry quickly. – Debra K.

23. If you are having your laundry done make sure you count the items and take a photo with your phone, so you can easily check if you get everything back. This is me in Laos now, minus one sock! I gave 14 items in and got 14 back but one was a tiny bikini bottom not belonging to me! One sock has gone. – Rachel A.

24. On long international flights, I pack a small washcloth or clean rag and a fresh pair of underwear. Midway (usually at a layover) I wash up and put new panties on. Toss the rag. Fresh as a daisy! – Judith M.

25. I always carry one complete spare outfit in my carry-on backpack. You never know when there will be an ‘accident’ like a spilled drink or barfing etc. – Annie F.

Travel Hacks

26. I want to make going through security easier and not have to fumble with my backpack getting out my laptop, power pack, and liquids bag. So I’m buying a laptop bag which will make it easy to remove those items quickly. – Annie F.

27. Travel with a small roll of hockey tape so you can cover up lights that are on electrical appliances or lights that shine in your hotel room when you’re trying to sleep. – Leslie E.

Food Tips

28. This isn’t a tip but it is a place I loved. I was wandering around Amsterdam and came across this place that serves fondue. Since I love cheese I had to try it and it was delicious. The name of the restaurant is Het Karbeel. – Lyne G.

29. Don’t be afraid of trying street food. Just make sure you pick somewhere that has a long line, this ensures the food is good and that it is also fresh. Never eat at a place where there is no one else dining or there is food sitting around. Places where they cook the food in front of you are the best and best of all street food is budget-friendly! – Kristina W.

30. I use the Happy Cow app to find vegetarian and vegan restaurants around the world.- Nancy T.

More Travel Tips From JourneyWoman Readers