How to Stay Sane on the Road: Travel Tips

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Last month I put together a series called “Travel More” where I shared info on subjects such as finding cheap flights, how to build miles, etc.. In the past year I’ve been to Singapore, Bali, Japan, Italy, Korea, France, and several other countries and states all for less than $1500 in airfare between both my hubby and myself. To get to Singapore, Bali and Japan it cost about $100 each and the same for Europe. Make sure you check the series out if you haven’t yet. Apply the tips I shared there and you could be flying first class to Paris in just a few months time. But whether you’re planning a big trip overseas or a road trip to your parents’ for the holidays, the tips I’m sharing today are for all kinds of travel. I’ve teamed up with Centrum® MultiGummies® to share my best on-the-road tips, and I’ve got some good ones with real-life stories. FYI: they’re mostly horror stories because I want you to learn from my mistakes ha! Check it out:

Big Ben, London

1. Beware of the poison dogs. While hubby and I were vacationing in Hawaii earlier this year we were going back to our hotel one night and just wanted a light snack. We stopped at a convenience store located inside our hotel and they had hot dogs. You know those ones that sit there cooking on these lukewarm rollers for who knows how long? My hubby loves those things, although they’ve never reciprocated his love. He’s gotten food poisoning from them before so I told him not to eat one, especially at that time of day (who knows how long they’d been there?!) but he did anyways. He has this thing where if I tell him not to do something he wants to do it more. Well anyways you can guess what happened. He got food poisoning the next day and we lost out on one day of our Hawaiian holiday because of it. The funny part is that he still eats them, apparently they’re worth the risk. Basically the moral of the story is: use your common sense. It sucks to get sick, but it especially sucks on vacation. Some people say to avoid street food in third world countries. I could never recommend that, it’s one of the best things. But you can usually tell when sanitary conditions are a little worse in some areas as compared to others, so again, use your common sense guys.

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

2. Save Face. It’s a pun. I’m actually talking about skincare. I always have to make adjustments to my skincare routine wherever I travel to. The worst was last year in Vegas’ winter. I got the ugliest cold sore, had just had a bad dye job (that my mom ended up fixing–yay for moms!), and my skin dried out so much that makeup was almost impossible because it just stuck to unsightly dry spots. What saved me was using a face spray right before putting on my makeup, so that it stayed moist just long enough to apply foundation cleanly. But these are my essential skincare rules when on the road: 1) no makeup on flights (or road trips) longer than 6-7 hours, 2) pack a face mist (in the check-in bag of course), and 3) keep face wipes on hand. You may think a face mist is superfluous but I consider it crucial on two occasions: if you have a long flight, because your skin is rapidly drying out in that high altitude, and if you’re going to a drastically different climate (unless it’s tropical). And I’m not talking about fancy aerosol cans that are just full of spring water. I’m talking about ones with a moisturizing component. These things are seriously clutch when traveling because they are the only thing you can carry around everywhere and apply even over makeup. Trust me, there is nothing worse than having your skin freaking out when you’re just trying to enjoy an overdue holiday.

3. Keep Health in Your Purse. With my nonexistent food filter, I know more than anyone how eating habits can get out of hand and exercise routines can fade away when on the road. This year I was converted to Centrum® MultiGummies, which are gummies that are delicious as any, except that they also contain essential nutrients. It’s the easiest way to put some nutrients back into your system even on a tight travel schedule. The Centrum® MultiGummies are gluten-free and have no artificial flavors or sweeteners, and these multi-benefit multivitamins include 100% or more of essential nutrients, Vitamins B12, D, and E. Walmart carries this iconic orange bottle, and if you scroll to the bottom of the post you will find a link for some coupons!

Musee du Louvre, Paris

4. Offline games. I don’t really play games on my phone, but I keep a few on there anyways for travel purposes. When you’re on a long flight and have exhausted every other form of entertainment and definitely don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for one hour of internet, that’s when your offline games come in handy. Or when you’re on a long train ride in a foreign country, etc etc. Just trust me, they’ll come in handy one day and you’ll thank me for that one time you didn’t die of boredom.

Ubud, Bali

5. Phone Service. I go overseas 2-3 times per year, but my hubby is overseas at least once per month. So having phone service with decent overseas data and zero roaming charges was a given for us, and it has been soooo convenient when traveling. While in Bali last year we met with a nice driver named Jimmy who we ended up hiring for a few days to take us all over the island. One day we ended up in the car probably double the time we really needed to be there. I think Jimmy wasn’t very familiar with that part of the island, whereas we had GPS on our phones telling us the quickest routes. Outside of that situation I don’t think we ever had to deal with being lost since we always had our phones. Obviously this isn’t a necessity for a lot of people if you don’t go abroad much, but I just wanted to point it out for the next time you’re getting ready to change plans. Having a working map and navigation on my phone as well as free texting, etc. in other countries has been beyond delightful to have the past few years. The one place where it’s not as helpful: Korea. Because, y’know, North Korean spies (true story).

London

6. Plan for Success. Not everyone can fly business or first (although I have great tips for doing so in my travel series :), but you can prepare and prevent some bad situations. Some examples: 1) Know your plane. There can be drastic differences between new model planes and older ones. Do a bit of research and try to snag a flight on a nicer plane. Do you really want to accidentally find yourself on a 6-hour flight to NYC with no in-flight entertainment besides the rowdy conversation going on two rows behind you? Didn’t think so. 2) Know your seat. If your flight’s seating is first-come-first-serve, make sure you check in as soon as allowed so that you can to lower your chances of getting stuck in the back corner next to the bathroom. 3) Know your itinerary. If you have a short layover in a large disorganized airport then don’t lollygag. Or if you have a long layover in say Incheon, know that you can go ice skating, dress up in traditional clothing, go to the movies, visit gardens, etc. without ever leaving the building. I’ve been through Incheon I don’t know how many times in my life and never knew they had all that plus more. It can really pay to keep yourself informed.

I hope you found some of these tips useful. I know they have helped me stay sane when on the road. Thanks to awesome Centrum® for sponsoring this post. Taking Centrum® MultiGummies® makes me feel good about my health, and they are especially great when traveling. Find lots of great coupons on the Centrum® website. What are your hacks for staying sane on the road?

*These statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.