Travel Tingle

Traveling is a rewarding experience. It, however, at times, can feel like a bit of a stretch, especially with all the costs and efforts involved. Here are some simple yet powerful travel hacks that will make your next international trip a whole lot easier, cheaper and productive.

All you need to do is tell the airport check-in staff that you’re carrying fragile items in your suitcase, and they’ll stick a “handle with care” tag to it. Not only will they be super careful with your stuff, you’ll also get your bags before other passengers. The good part: it doesn’t cost an extra penny!

Flying as a couple but at loggerheads over who’ll take the dreaded middle seat? Well, a sneaky get-around is to reserve the aisle and window seat. If you’re lucky nobody would choose the middle seat, and you’ll have the entire row to yourself. In case someone does choose the middle seat, you can always request to switch (nobody in their right mind would say no to a window or aisle seat!).

This is, hands down, one of the best travel hacks ever; especially if you’re traveling to a place where the Wi-Fi is weak. Simply look up your destination on Google Maps and type “OK Google” in the navigation bar to download the entire map to your phone or tablet.

Similarly, if you’re traveling to a country where you don’t speak the local tongue, always have Google translate loaded and ready.

Airlines and travel sites bump up ticket prices when you search for the same flights again. The idea is to trick you into buying sooner by giving an impression of ‘rising prices’. To avoid this, book your tickets in incognito mode or delete all cookies (websites record your visits using cookies).

Enough of being overly clever and sneaky. How about doing a good deed before leaving? If possible, give away all loose change to the homeless, or drop it in a charity box before boarding your flight back home.