Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.

The student’s guide to holiday traveling: Five tips to make your trip as smooth as possible

Samantha Rhodes, Managing Editor

Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like.


Email This Story






image_pdfimage_print

Chilly weather means the holidays are quickly approaching and chances are, you’re heading home to spend some quality time with family.
Your parents’ house could be an eleven-hour car drive, a two-hour flight or a four-hour train trip one-way. Sounds like a nightmare, right? It doesn’t have to be. Whatever method of transportation you’re up against, here are five essential tips for making your travel session as smooth as possible.

1. Make a list

Remember that feeling of arriving somewhere only to realize you forgot your phone charger, or worse, your toothbrush? That rush of panic can easily ruin your trip.
Making a to-pack list of everything you’ll need will save you both time during the packing process and potential heartache once you’ve arrived at your destination.
Plan out how many outfits you’ll need along with the types of occasions you’ll be attending and how to dress accordingly. For example, will you need clothes for a formal family reunion, church or just casual attire to bum around in? Also take into consideration whether or not you’ll have access to a washer and dryer. If so, you don’t need an outfit packed for each day of your trip.
Also, don’t forget to pack often-forgotten essential items like ibuprofen for sudden headaches that strike while traveling, headphones or a sweatshirt to throw on in case you get chilly.
Check out mobile applications like Packing Pro or Trip List to help you remember what you need without having to write anything on paper.

2. Roll your clothes when packing

Once you start rolling, you may find you never want to go back to folding again.
Rolling individual articles of clothing allows you to pack tighter, fitting noticeably more into your suitcase and giving you more room for accessories like belts, scarves, a bathroom bag or shoes.
However, this technique turns some items into a wrinkly mess. Avoid rolling some cotton items, which may wrinkle easily.
Items that don’t wrinkle easily include synthetic fabrics such as nylon, polyester, microfiber, spandex, acrylic and acetate. The thinner the item, the more space rolling it will save you.
To utilize every square inch of your suitcase, be sure to stuff your socks and undies inside your shoes.

Samantha Rhodes
Even though packing can be a frustrating part of any trip, don’t let the anxiety of it jumble your brain. Shoving your clothes in a suitcase will create pockets of unfilled space.

Samantha Rhodes
Instead, roll your clothes like in the bag on the right. Also, stuff your socks and undies inside your shoes for maximum space-saving.

3. Have an audio option tailored to your interests

As every road tripper can attest, you can only listen to music for so long before your head starts to hurt. The solution? Your choices are abundant.
Audio books are all the rage; The Wall Street Journal reported last year that audio books have ballooned into a $1.2 billion industry. Either visit your local library and scan their audio section or go to audible.com for a free, 30-day trial of over 150,000 titles in any genre imaginable. You can stream and download audio books on your smart phone or laptop. If you like what you hear, you can opt for a monthly membership of $14.95 and the mobile application is free.
If radio is more your thing, try the free app, TuneIn, which provides listeners access to over 100,000 real radio stations and more than four million podcasts streaming from every continent.
Personally, I enjoy the TED Radio Hour talks from National Public Radio (NPR), but if technology, entertainment and design exploration doesn’t leave you craving more, the app also has music stations, comedy or sport channels, selected short stories and other talks adapted for radio.
Finally, if all these options are making you snore, you can always go old school and make your own mix tape CD or personalize your own station on Pandora or playlist on Spotify. After all, who knows your quirky, well-developed taste in music better than you?
Any of the options with mobile apps through a smart phone can be listened to via your car speakers with the purchase of an adaptor cord. These cords can be found online or at stores such as Kohl’s or Walmart. That’s right — no more tangled headphones or straining to hear through your phone speakers.

4. Pack your own snacks and beverages

That iced tea and candy bar for two bucks at every gas station doesn’t seem like much, but with each stop, your snacking toll will add up and leave you craving even more sugar in the long run. Not to mention, everything in an airport usually costs double the typical price, leaving your wallet empty, your face flabbergasted and your stomach still grumbling.
I know it seems like a lot of work, but if you’re driving, packing a mini cooler with a few drinks will only take you five minutes at most (if you are unskilled at pouring ice in a cooler, that is). Pouring some popcorn in a baggie or grabbing some granola bars is a considerably healthier option than a chocolate bar or candy, especially since you’ll probably be eating enough calories to last you for a week over the holidays.
Don’t forget to bring along some plastic bags for your garbage, making it easier to throw away all your trash at once and preventing your vehicle from turning into a disaster zone upon arrival.
When flying, bagged snack food like pretzels is a must-have for your carry-on luggage. The secret to avoid having to buy an overpriced beverage in an airport is to pack an empty water bottle, which you can then fill at a drinking fountain after going through security.

5. Do your research before you leave

If your location is somewhere you aren’t familiar with, do you have a GPS or printed Map Quest directions to a specific address? Even the most experienced drivers can get flustered if traffic is overwhelming, and chances are, there’s a shorter route than the one you’ve always taken. Having an alternate route planned is never a bad idea in case chaos decides to wreak havoc on your trip. If flying, familiarize yourself with airport restrictions, such as the dimensions of the accepted carry-on bag.
Stocking up on the latest travel apps will give you a technological hand in more ways than you thought possible. Taking to the skies? Flight Status and Trip It give you real-time updates on delays, baggage numbers, gate confirmations and more, while GateGuru gives you estimates of the time you’ll spend in security. Hitting the road? GasBuddy and SitOrSquat help you find the cheapest gas and the cleanest bathrooms, respectively.
Other helpful apps include WeatherPro, a highly accurate weather predictor which gives reports on over two million geographical locations, or Waze, a navigation app that merges GPS functioning with social networking to provide you with the quickest route based off user-submitted traffic reports.

Following these tips should give you the simple, anxiety-free travel experience so you can arrive at your destination in good spirits.
Happy traveling and happy holidays!

Samantha Rhodes is a third-year communication major and she is the managing editor at The Independent Collegian.

Print Friendly

1 Comment

Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.
The student’s guide to holiday traveling: Five tips to make your trip as smooth as possible