Exploring a new destination is fun, but the rigamarole to get there, not so much. Plane travel can be exhausting, packing fraught, and ensuring you have what you need to stay safe and connected during your trip means taking a lot into consideration before you step out the door. We’ve all been there many times.
But travel shouldn’t be so stressful. And those who’ve made a profession out of it, like our travel writers, have many tricks they turn to on every trip that make their journeys bearable, and even enjoyable. “What are the hacks we should be using?” we asked them. Their answers—and their anecdotes about why they changed the way they pack or entertain their kids—wowed us in these 16 ways.
Gear Hacks
😠 The Problem: You hate packing a regular toothbrush, and your electric one only plugs into the wall
💫 The Solution: The Suri e-toothbrush

Having to pack a regular old toothbrush is always such a letdown. I went electric a long time ago. At home I use an Oral B, but it’s bulky, the battery rarely lasts more than a week, and it’s prone to spontaneously buzzing and vibrating in my bag. Awkward.
Then I got a Suri. These electric toothbrushes are sleek, and their slender hard case has a built-in USB-C-powered UV light that disinfects. You can power it in the case, too—not that you’ll likely need to. The company claims the battery lasts 40 days on a single charge. I’ve not personally tested this, but mine worked every day of the two weeks I just spent hopping between Oregon, Colorado and Virginia.
Suri is good for your conscience, too. We $99 at Amazon
😠 The Problem: Getting an infection in a remote place, days or miles from medical help
💫 The Solution: Carry amoxicillin

In general, I’ve never needed antibiotics, but there was a time that my kid did, and I didn’t have them. I’m not doing that again. Once, on a three-day float trip down Oregon’s remote John Day River with family and friends, my 11-year-old curled up in the bow and went to sleep for the entire morning. This was worrisome. She loved river trips and typically wanted to spend every minute kayaking.
That afternoon, pain set in. She complained that it felt like an ice pick was chiseling away at her skull below one eye and above her teeth. My wife and I pumped her full of Tylenol and Ibuprofen, but nothing helped. Then her face began to swell.
I’m deeply wary of using any medicine willy-nilly, and I’m no doctor, but I knew she needed antibiotics. Decades before, on a remote island in the Philippines, I’d languished for a week with a ruptured eardrum that was horrifically infected. That could have been avoided with antibiotics. And fortunately for travelers, in many countries, you can walk into a pharmacy, explain your symptoms, and walk out with what you need. But occasionally, we find ourselves seriously sick in remote locations and in need of powerful medicine, like my daughter that day on the river.
We eventually got her to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with a tooth abscess. She’d need a root canal, but amoxicillin cut the pain quickly. And that’s why I never travel without it now. For antibiotics in the U.S., you’ll need a doctor’s prescription, so I suggest making an appointment ahead of time if you know you’ll be somewhere remote and are concerned about medical resources in that area and no better recourse. In my experience, it’s worth asking for more than you’ll need to keep stashed in your Dopp kit. —T.N.
Kids Entertainment Hacks
😠 The Problem: You’re road-tripping with the kids and want them to enjoy the scenery without screens
💫 The Solution: Play just the audio of their favorite film

Playing movies on road trips has become a staple in my family. But not watching them—listening to them. When my daughter was really young, this kept her entertained, and my wife and I loved how it stoked her imagination without a screen. The trick was to download a favorite film, like Puss in Boots, Kung Fu Panda, or. Penguins of Madagascar. Because she’d already seen it a million times, she could picture it entirely by sound: That’s Rico eating the snow globes. That’s the penguins bouncing in the bouncy house. Other forgettable sounds became hysterical, like a chicken clucking after Kevin Hart’s character explodes in Jumanji.
This hack isn’t just for kids. I use it myself on long drives at night when I’m tired of podcasts. A favorite? Interview with a Vampire. The gurgling, slurping sounds; Brad Pitt’s breathiness; and Christian Slater’s nasalness are all so bad it’s incomparably great—maybe even better than watching it on screen. —T.N.
Airline Hacks
😠 The Problem: Your flight is delayed or you have a general complaint about your carrier’s service
💫 The Solution: Pipe up when things go wrong—it often pays off

Over the past year, airfare has , but airline reliability has plummeted. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, of domestic flights were delayed or canceled in the first half of 2024. Only 50 percent of the 63 flights I’ve taken this year left on schedule. What’s your recourse?
First, know your rights: the Department of Transportation posts a listing the services or amenities domestic airlines promise clients affected by delays and cancellations. Armed with this information, you can then reach out to a representative of your air carrier and ask for compensation. It’s worth noting that every major U.S. carrier offers meal vouchers for delays of three hours or more (talk to your gate agent). Alaska, JetBlue, and Southwest provide a travel credit or voucher for a delay of more than three hours. Only Alaska, however, promises frequent-flier miles in addition to a travel credit.
Things should improve in the next five years, thanks to a new federal regulation requiring airlines to refund customers, or offer credits that last up to five years, for flight delays greater than three hours for domestic travel and six hours for international trips. Until then, a quick email complaint can go a long way, I’ve found, particularly with United Airlines. It takes less than three minutes to fill out and submit a grievance, whether it’s a delay or annoying hiccups like a broken seat that won’t recline or spotty Wi-Fi. Nine times out of ten, I receive some type of compensation; in fact, last year I was awarded close to 20,000 miles, earned nearly $2,500 in I’m-sorry vouchers, and was even refunded the $8 I spent on faulty Wi-Fi. I appreciate this service. It takes some of the sting out of plans gone awry —J.M.
😠 The Problem: You want to travel with your own bicycle but don’t want to pay hundreds to check it
💫 The Solution: Choose an airline that lets your bike fly free

Airlines have mutilated a number of my surfboards, so I’ve never been willing to gamble on flying with my much pricier road bike. I’m far from a pro, and rentals are way better than they used to be; plus, I like to support local bike shops. But I know that serious cyclists suffer separation anxiety—and for you I have intel.
If you don’t want to be charged an oversizeoverweight fee of upward of $200, you need to make sure your rig and its box weigh 50 pounds or less and are smaller than 80 inches. A nice carbon road bike tends to weigh between 17 and 20 pounds. Factor in a light case and remove the front wheel, and you can just make the cut.
But the airline beloved by many cyclists bringing bikes is Southwest. It’s the only domestic airline that grants two free checked bags, regardless of loyalty status. If your bike meets the proper dimensions (62 inches or less and less than 50 pounds), it’s counted as a free checked bag.
It’s also worth considering Delta and United if you have status with those airlines. On Delta, those with Medallion status or Delta Amex cardholders can check a bicycle for free if it meets dimensions (62 linear inches) and it’s the sole piece of checked luggage. On United, status members are granted an extra 20 pounds per checked bag, which can make a difference if you’ve sprung for a hard-shell case to keep your beloved bike free from dings. —J.M.
Tim Neville and Megan Michelson are ԹϺ contributing editors, and Jen Murphy is a longtime ԹϺ correspondent. All spend weeks of the year traveling around the country and abroad and reporting back to us. Neville recently recounted his scary multi-night stay in a dark cave in Oregon, Michelson rounded up the best outdoor festivals, and Murphy wrote about the countless ways to explore Costa Rica.
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