You can spend hours planning itineraries and packing the perfect outfits, but often the most valuable travel tools are the ones you find in a junk drawer. In a popular thread on r/AskReddit, seasoned travelers share the absurdly simple tricks they refuse to leave home without.
1. The mighty binder clip
One of the most persistent complaints about hotel rooms is the gap between the curtains that lets in blinding morning light.
Comment in r/traveladviceI always seem to find a need now and then for a binder clip, so I always bring a couple small and regular sized with me.
Comment in r/traveladviceBring BINDER CLIPS to keep that stupid crack of light between the two shades that won’t overlap when you close them from bothering you when you’re trying to sleep!
2. Wallet tricks
Safety is a priority, especially in areas known for pickpocketing.
Comment in r/traveladviceI don’t need it in every country but I’ll pack a ‘fake’ wallet. I’ve travelled for 7 years straight, came home for a birthday and a wedding, and only needed it 3 times. But if I didn’t have it, I would have been without my actual wallet so it was an absolute life saver.
I put a few notes, coins and super old debit cards and make it look genuine.
Comment in r/traveladvicePut a wide rubber band around your wallet so it doesn’t slide out of your pocket as easy since drag coefficient of the wallet is increased. Anyone who tries to pick pocket you will have to contend with the extra drag and you will likely feel it. And it also is a reminder when you see your wallet with the band next to it it tells you that there is something that needs to go back into your wallet (like credit card).
Edit: and don’t keep your wallet inside your back pocket.
Comment in r/traveladviceHide your extra cash in a period napkin.
3. Bring a power strip
Finding an accessible outlet in a hotel room or airport is often a competitive sport.
Comment in r/traveladviceI put a 15 foot flat three wire triple head, AC extension cord in my carry-on. The flat cord packs much better than the round. It is super useful, sometimes in airports, almost always in hotel rooms. It’s amazing how many hotel rooms do not have an outlet within cord reach of my CPAP machine.
This is of course augmented by 2 power strips with multiple USB charging ports built in.
The last two times I flew into Atlanta it happened to be in the middle of a snowstorm, and there were virtually no outlets in the airport. Between the long extension cord and the power strips, I was the belle of the ball.
The carry on also has multiple long USB cords to fit the phones, tablets, etc. Very light weight and very handy.
Comment in r/traveladvicePack an extension lead - you only use 1 plug for lots of devices
4. Download offline documents
Data roaming can be expensive and spotty, leaving travelers stranded without navigation or crucial documents.
Comment in r/traveladviceDownload Google Maps offline for the area before you travel
Comment in r/traveladviceI’ve travelled through 90s Asia. Notepad. Create maps, you’d be surprised how handy they become. Also I love going back to them decades later. Actually this was how lonely planet got started.
Get your bearings, read the stars
Comment in r/traveladviceKeep copy of passport etc in 'the cloud' for instant downloading.
5. The DIY shoe cover
Packing shoes usually involves worrying about the dirt on the soles touching clean clothes. Instead of buying expensive packing cubes, users suggest repurposing the free amenities often found in the hotel bathroom.
Comment in r/traveladviceShower caps to wrap my shoes in. Keeps the dirty shoe bottoms (that trekked all over town) from touching my hair straightener. Also spare door stop. I actually keep twp in a ziploc bag in my luggage at all times.
Comment in r/traveladviceDoggy poop bags: used as trash bags, gloves, storage bags, shoe covers and yes as a poop bag as well.
Comment in r/traveladviceBringing plastic bags to either cover shoes when transporting in my bag, use for wet clothes or dirty clothes, and other handy things when a plastic bag is convenient. Also packing my rolled socks in my shoes for efficient use of space
6. Take boring but useful photos
Travelers recommend taking comprehensive photos of all your property to serve as proof of possession for insurance claims.
Comment in r/traveladviceIf you're staying in a hotel, take a picture of the key card holder with your room number on it and leave the holder in your room. That way, if you lose the key, no one will know what room it goes to anyway.
I keep a charcoal bag (meant for smelly shoes) in my suitcase to help absorb dirty laundry odors. I also bring an inflatable camping pillow when traveling overseas because some countries have a very different idea of what constitutes a pillow.
And I like to have dedicated travel versions of things like toothbrushes, combs, deodorant, etc, so I don't have to worry about remembering to pack them. They stay in the bag.
Comment in r/traveladviceWhat also works is to just snap a photo of all your documents at some point so it's in your camera roll.
Comment in r/traveladviceYou can listen to this person or you can listen to the State Department:
Organize your required travel documents
Gather your required travel documents and make multiple copies. These copies will help you replace your originals if they are stolen or lost while traveling.
Give a set of copies to a trusted friend or family member.
Keep a set of copies with you, separate from your originals.
Take photos of your travel documents using your mobile phone.
7. The BYO pillow
A simple pillowcase takes up almost no room but offers comfort on questionable hostel pillows and doubles as a laundry bag. It is a multitasking fabric square that people swear by for hygiene and organization.
Comment in r/traveladviceTake a pillow case for the plane. Stuff jumper or jacket or coat in there. Choose wondow seat. Automatic pillow to rest on.
Comment in r/traveladviceI travel with a matching pillow case from home. It’s helped to lessen the variance of sheet quality to improve my sleep quality and takes up zero space.
Comment in r/traveladviceI take a small soft pillow that is compressible and a regular pillowcase from home. The pillow is handy on the plane and for hotel rooms where the pillows are too high or too hard. The pillowcase smells of home, not cigarettes or weird detergent and at the end of the trip I can use it to pack dirty clothes.
Comment in r/traveladviceThere is a neck pillow which has a zipper and does not have stuffing. You stuff it with clothes to your desired comfort level, and voila, free extra bag. I usually walk into the airport wearing it at check-in and the ticket agents usually don't bat an eyelid
Whether it is using office supplies to curate better sleep or carrying a fake wallet to fool thieves, the collective wisdom of frequent flyers proves that you don't need expensive gear to travel well—just a little ingenuity. Which of these hacks would you try first?
Want more like this? Read the full recommendations in r/AskReddit, and find similar conversations in r/travel, r/solotravel and r/onebag.
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