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Smart Tech Tips To Make Summer Travel Cheaper And Less Stressful
Travel prices are up about 18% compared to pre-pandemic costs.
Then there are the flight cancellations and extra-long waits to contend with.
To help, I put together a list of the 10 best travel apps for 2023.
Oh, and before you leave your house, be sure to switch on your security system.
Don't have one?
Alexa can do it for free if you have an Amazon Echo.
Here are more of my best tricks to save you time, money, and headaches before you hit the road or the skies.
© Provided by New York Post Travel prices are up about 18% compared to pre-pandemic costs.Shutterstock 1. Know where your bags are You've seen those pictures of dozens of suitcases sitting around at the airport.
Don't let that be you.
Many major airlines (including United, American, Delta and Air New Zealand) let you track your luggage in real-time through the airline's official app.
I throw an Apple AirTag in checked bags for extra peace of mind.
I also put one on my dog's collar, in my cars and everything my husband owns.
© Provided by New York Post Apple's AirTags are ideal if you have an iPhone, Mac, or iPad. 2. Pick the best flight Delays can stack up as the day goes, so your best bet to make sure you get on the plane is to choose a flight before 3 p.M.
Wednesday is one of the cheapest days to fly, so there's your plan: Wednesday before 3.
Pro tip: You can check where your plane is to get an idea of whether your upcoming flight will be delayed. The airline you're flying might display this in the app, or you can use Flight Aware. Enter your flight number to get details on the aircraft and its status.
3. Flying internationally? Get this appMobile Passport Control is a free U.S. Customs and Border Protection app that lets you get back home faster.
Unlike CLEAR or TSA PreCheck, you don't need any pre-approval.
© Provided by New York Post Mobile Passport Control is a free U.S. Customs and Border Protection app that lets you get back home faster.CBP All you have to do is download the app and fill out the forms when you land, then go to the "Mobile Passport Control" lane at the airport. Sweet.
Download for iPhone or Android.
4. Snap pics before you goYou always need to carry identification when traveling, but having a digital backup is wise, too.
Worst case scenario, you lose your wallet.
Getting home will be much smoother if you have photos of all your important documents.
© Provided by New York Post You always need to carry identification when traveling, but having a digital backup is wise, too.Google The easiest way to do that on an iPhone is to use the handy document scanner built into the native Notes app.
On an Android, snap some photos and mark them as favorites in your picture gallery or scan them in with the Google Drive app.
Pro tip: Save your identifying documents as PDF files to send them to another device or two, like an iPad or Kindle. Download to access them offline beforehand and send a copy to your travel partner.
Working on the plane? 5 ways you're killing your laptop's battery without realizing it.
5. No more paper boarding passesIf you're not already doing this, you'll thank me.
Stop fumbling around with a printed board pass and access a digital version.
You can log in to the airline's website and have them email your boarding pass or download your airline's app to access it.
From there, you can add it to your phone's digital wallet.
The Best Gear To Make Long Flights Less Miserable
We're supposed to appreciate the journey as much as the destination, but that's a hard task when the journey can be a leg-cramping, backbreaking, neck-cricking experience during a long-haul flight in economy. If you don't have the luxury of a premier seat, then you're stuck in an unforgiving spot for hours, bumping elbows and knees with neighbors.
Although you can pony up for more legroom, investing in a few pieces of travel gear may be better for your bank account. For the price of a seat selection, you can find gadgets that claim to help you sleep better, sit more comfortably or shut out your fellow fliers. But the amount of products out there can be overwhelming. You need to find a compromise between comfort and practicality, because whatever you pack, you also have to carry.
So what's worth your money and luggage space? With a handful of flights on my calendar (from D.C. To Vegas, a few long flights to Asia and a weekend trip to Montreal), I tested eight products to find out.
A footrest hammock, $25
Return to menuFor $24.99, I felt like the fanciest person in coach, thanks to the "Airplane Footrest" off Amazon, an accessory that's intended to relieve back and leg discomfort. It was soothing as soon as I slipped my feet in the hammock on my 15½-hour flight from New York to South Korea. I've never noticed how your body absorbs a slight vibration when your feet are on the plane floor. The lightly padded hammock eliminated all rumbling, giving me a full-body equivalent of putting on noise-canceling headphones.
The manufacturer claims it's suitable for all heights, but at 5-foot-4, I can't speak for tall travelers. What I do know is that it came in a flat bag, unfolded easily and could be clipped into place in a minute. (You lower your tray table, hang the sling straps on the table's hinges, then fold the tray table back up.) It was perfect for the window seat, and maybe the middle if you knew the person in the window seat. But when I had an aisle seat on a redeye from Vietnam to Japan, I skipped the sling, so my neighbors wouldn't feel trapped.
Throughout the flight, I adjusted the sling higher and lower for different effects. It did seem to relieve back aches and give me more variety in my sleeping positions. As with any plane sleeping position, you can't stay in one forever without experiencing discomfort. My knee ligaments felt as if they were going to tear after five or six hours of my sling-sleeping attempts, so I'd recommend taking your feet out from time to time to stretch.
Headphones for seat-back entertainment, $17
Return to menuWhen you're lucky enough to get a seat-back entertainment screen, you don't want to get stuck with airlines' complimentary headphones. Unless you're in first class, they're dinky and of poor quality. (Not a fit for re-watching "A Star is Born.") Popular cordless Bluetooth headphones or iPhone headphones with lightning connectors don't work with in-flight entertainment systems, so you have to pack a good old-fashioned 3.5mm audio jack. I keep a pair of $16.99 ones in my laptop bag so I never leave them behind.
A silky but supportive neck pillow, $55
Return to menuI've tried a bunch of neck pillows and have changed my mind over the years about which one is best. These days, I travel with the Cushion Lab ergonomic travel neck pillow, available for $55 (when it's not on sale). It's made of squishy "Hyperfoam," an "extra dense, dynamically rebounding, proprietary memory foam," is silky and smooth, and isn't super bulky but is still supportive.
If there's any potential for sleep on an airplane, I'm packing this neck pillow. It's a nonnegotiable, even if it's just to soften a brutal 6 a.M. Departure. On all of my test flights, I either used it in the traditional way (fastened around my neck, clasp in the back) or folded up like a cinnamon roll and wedged against the plane wall. I've never regretted packing it once. When I'm not using it on a flight or train or long car ride, I store it with my clothes in a compression bag in my luggage. (If you're not traveling with compression bags, you're missing out.)
A no-frills, comfortable eye mask, $22
Return to menuWe know lights are detrimental to good sleep, which makes tiny ones particularly annoying in hotel rooms, so packing an eye mask is key to getting better sleep on a flight and on your trip. Not only do they block out cabin lights or the glow of your neighbor's laptop, but they also act as a signal to your body that it's time to sleep.
I tried two options. First, the "3D Contoured Cup Sleeping Mask & Blindfold" I use at home that's raised, so it doesn't put pressure on your eyelids ($21.99 on Amazon). And second, a pair of "Sleep Headphones" ($22.89 on Amazon), an eye mask with built-in Bluetooth headphones. After flying with both, I'd skip the high-tech model; on an 8 a.M. Flight, I had to keep adjusting the position of the speakers, which distracted me from trying to sleep. Meanwhile, the low-tech mask did its job seamlessly and helped me sleep for hours at a time.
Highly rated compression socks, $19
Return to menuCompression socks are another low-tech flex that help with blood circulation. I went with the moisture-wicking "Physix Gear Sport Women's Modern" ($18.57), the top seller on Amazon. Putting them on made me feel like an old-timey Victorian woman fastening her stockings, but they always kept my legs snug. I overheard a few women at the Bangkok airport talking about their swollen feet after our flight, and took stock of my own. They had swelled a little, but not enough to cause discomfort. The socks had been a success.
An ergonomic seat for fewer backaches, $50+
Return to menuCelebrity personal trainer Ashley Borden once told me that she always travels with a BackJoy Posture Plus seat, because "you can get up from a plane and you do not have back pain." It's an ergonomic seat that creates an active sitting position and corrects the position of the pelvis, and as someone who has been having searing back pain on long flights, I was happy to investigate.
After a round trip to Vegas with my BackJoy SitSmart Pro Relief Gel model ($59.99 from Walmart), I was sold. I felt no pain — zero — just some inconvenience from having to carry it around. The seat was light (only about a pound) but much bigger than a laptop and rigid. Borden straps hers to her backpack, so I used a carabiner to fasten mine to my carry-on bag. For my Asia trip, I got the smaller BackJoy Posture Seat Pad ($49.99 on Amazon), hoping it'd be less cumbersome. It was, but it didn't deliver the same bliss and wasn't worth carrying around for two weeks, so I cut my losses and left it at the airport in Bangkok.
Bottom line: The Pro Relief did work wonders. I'd recommend it for quick business trips where you know you have to work on long flights. But I wouldn't schlep one on a vacation, particularly when traveling light.
I Never Bought Travel Insurance In My Life — Until I Became A Parent
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© Courtesy of Kelly Burch The author, Kelly Burch. Courtesy of Kelly Burch When my sister got a coveted invite to a friend's wedding in Florence, I in turn got an invite of my own. It was the perfect excuse, my sister said, for a girls trip to Italy, where we could explore a country that we had dreamed about visiting since we were kids. With visions of art, olive oil, and Mediterranean sun dancing through my head, I immediately said yes.
Almost immediately, I started to stress about the logistics. My sister and I are both moms, and absconding from our families for two weeks seemed tricky. My husband assured me he could hold down the fort, so I turned to my next worry: COVID-related travel interruptions. What if I got sick before leaving? Or what if my husband fell ill and couldn't take care of our girls?
I've traveled a lot in the past, but I've never purchased travel insurance. Quite simply, I couldn't imagine a scenario that would make me not get on the plane. Now, as a mom traveling without her family during the pandemic, there seemed to be lots of reasons that could pop up. So, I bought travel insurance for the first time ever.
I got flight insurance through my credit cardMy sister and I both booked our flights with our credit cards. This was part of a larger plan to make the trip affordable. She received a points bonus for referring me to the card, and she used that to pay for some of our accommodation. But the card offered another perk: affordable trip insurance.
When we booked flights, we both opted to pay an extra $75 so we could cancel for any reason. As a budget-conscious traveler, I balked at that amount because it was about 10% of what we paid for flights.
But then I considered how I would feel if I had sick children or if COVID made travel unsafe. I would be devastated to have to cancel the trip, but I'd at least know I was getting the small consolation of getting a portion of my money back. With that in mind, $75 felt like money well spent. Plus, I liked that it was through my credit card provider, rather than a third party insurer that might take longer to return my funds.
Next Steps: Get a free travel insurance quote without talking to an agent
I didn't insure my accommodationAs we planned our trip, it grew. Our cousin and friend both opted to join in. We are splitting the cost of our accommodations four ways, which itself feels like a sort of insurance policy.
When I debated travel insurance for accommodations, my mind flashed back to last year, when I traveled with two friends. One of them got COVID before the trip and was unsure of whether she'd test negative in time to travel. I had to give her a harsh truth: While I'd be sad to travel without her, I was going to continue on the vacation, whether or not she could. I'd be happy to pick up her portion of the accommodation, but I wasn't canceling.
Planning Italy, I considered how I'd feel if the shoe was on the other foot. I would want my sister and friends to continue without me, of course. And while I could see plenty of reasons why one of us might not be able to go at the last minute, it seemed virtually impossible that all of us would bail.
Because of that, we decided not to purchase trip protection to cover our hotel and Airbnb reservations. We figured that — worst case scenario — we'd be splitting the accommodation by three instead of four.
I think I'm a travel insurance convertWhen I was traveling solo, I couldn't imagine canceling a trip and having to use insurance. But as I've gotten older, travel has become more complex. I have to consider not only myself, but my kids and husband. Then there's the unpredictability of the pandemic and seemingly endless stories of flight interruptions.
In that new context, travel insurance seems like a great buy. In the best case scenario I will never use the insurance. But I've shifted my mindset so that I don't see it as a waste. Instead, it's the cost of valuable peace of mind. Amid all the stressors of traveling internationally, I'll take every bit of peace I can get.
Next Steps: Get a free travel insurance quote without talking to an agent
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