Wanderlust & Wishes

Episode 80: Tips For Traveling Like A Pro

• Julie & Krystle

Share episode

On this episode, Krystle and Julie share their top tips for traveling like a pro. From Walt Disney World to beach trips to traveling internationally, these tips can help make the entire experience easier. If you already travel like a pro, share this episode with your family and friends to make your next trip with them a breeze! 

Connect with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wanderlustandwishespodcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wanderlustandwishespodcast

For interest in vacation planning email us at: wanderlustandwishespodcast@gmail.com
Or fill out this quote request form: https://forms.gle/ZmN8C2akheQabF7B7

SPEAKER_02:

Welcome to Wonderlust and Wishes, the podcast where we explore the world one destination at a time.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm Julie. And I'm Crystal. As travel agents with fantastical vacations, we are here to share our passion for travel and help you turn your wonderlust into reality.

SPEAKER_02:

From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us as we dive into the sights, sounds, and stories of our favorite destinations.

SPEAKER_00:

So grab your passport, pack your bags, and let's embark on this journey together.

SPEAKER_01:

Hi, everybody. Welcome to episode 80 of Wonderlust and Wishes. We hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving break. I also want to give Crystal a shout out because she came down to the beach and came through where where I live, just south of Charlotte, and she brought me Chiro Toffee, and it was freaking excellent. And so she gave up one of her toffee pieces to bring it to me. So that's that's love right there, guys. That's love.

SPEAKER_02:

I hadn't heard and I was wondering if I was I rationed it out.

SPEAKER_01:

Like I literally cut like did like teeny tiny pieces and rationed it out so that I didn't like gobble it all up at the same time. Because I gotta see if I can figure out if I can make it. I'm sure it won't be as good as the original, but I'll see if I can figure out how to make chiro toffee because I love making toffee. I make toffee chocolate sea salt toffee, usually for Christmas. So I want to see if I can figure out how to make this stuff because it's good.

SPEAKER_02:

Particular piece had quite the journey because it flew from LAX to Columbus, riven down the coast, and it survived.

SPEAKER_01:

So it was so good. It was delish. Thank you so much. It was the yummiest.

SPEAKER_02:

So good to see you too.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, yeah, of course. That was awesome. That was awesome too, not just the toffee. We'll have to also make sure my parents are going to Disneyland at the end of January. So we'll have to make sure they get us some toffee. If I can't figure out how to make it, we'll have to ask them to bring something.

SPEAKER_02:

If anybody else is going, I will pay you to ship it to me.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's good stuff. So today we're gonna talk about how to travel like a pro. Crystal brought this up as an option for us to talk through like a couple weeks ago. But what was funny is I actually did travel for my day job. I traveled to San Francisco a little bit over a week ago, and I traveled with one of my coworkers that doesn't travel as often as I do. And there were some things that so just little things that he didn't do or he didn't have like set up that would definitely have helped if we had had this episode already like created and we had maybe sent that to him before we traveled. He kind of fussed at me. He's like, You're supposed to be my like travel guru and you didn't tell me not to do this. And I was like, Well, I didn't know that you wouldn't know that. So that's kind of what this episode is going to be all about is having some things in your back pocket to help you as you're traveling, especially if you're not someone that travels often, just little reminders um to make things easier.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, and that's the thing is we travel so often that these are just like second nature to us. Until someone brings something up, and you're like, wait, you don't do that? Right. So before I came to see you, I worked all day. I didn't get home until like after seven, nothing was packed, and we were leaving at 6 a.m. the next morning. The worst prepared I've ever felt for a trip in my life, I think I packed in like an hour, but because I had a lot of these things already in place, I packed all five of us quickly and it was fine and it worked out because I basically had half everything packed already. Right, right. All right. Jumping right in here. Uh number one, pack smart for split stays. We've talked about splits days recently.

SPEAKER_01:

So one of the biggest hacks that we use is if you have a split stay or potentially a night before your main destination, you stop somewhere on the way to a cruise or something like that, or stopping halfway for a road trip. Pack your toiletries and one set of clothes separately.

SPEAKER_02:

This is a life changer with kids. So just last week when I went to see Julie and we stayed, we stayed halfway, we stopped halfway, and split the drive up. So I put one set of clothes and PJs and toiletries in a little duffel and just took that one bag in instead of taking all the bags.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. So that way you don't have to bring in 10 different bags or however many bags you have, unpack everything and repack everything. You just have the smaller bags that you can easily bring in. It's a lot easier on the parents not to have to drag everything back and forth.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. And we were up three flights of stairs, so it made that a lot easier.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh gosh, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, number two, keep a pre-packed toiletry bag.

SPEAKER_01:

So make sure that this bag is always ready. So are automatically have your travel size skincare, your medications, a possible, at least have like a pill pack that you know that that's what that's for, toothbrush, deodorant, hair ties, sunscreen, all of those things that you need to bring pretty much every trip, no matter where you're going. And don't risk forgetting something because you're throwing your everyday stuff in a bag at 4 a.m. An example of this is on my recent trip. My friend and coworker Chris, he forgot his razor. And I think that's a really big one. But I have a razor that's in a bag so that way I don't ever have to worry about bringing it with me. It's just automatically there.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I always have a bag, a toiletry bag packed for myself and for my kids. Pull it off the shelf, throw it in the suitcase. And playing off that, a few years ago, I saw a really good deal on a straightener. And I'd seen that it worked with cruise ship voltage and it doubles as a curling iron. So I still use my trusty straightener from high school at home, but who knows when that could bite the dust. I've been thinking it's any day now for years. So I ordered that straightener and now it just lives in my suitcase. And I only use it on vacation, and I love not dealing with a hot tool while packing, and I can never not have an extra one around for that very reason. Um with makeup brushes, I do the same thing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's a good call for sure. I don't do that with my makeup brushes, but I definitely do that with like a regular brush and all of the kind of most everything else. I pretty much have doubles and just have that in a in a bag automatically. And there's lots of fun Black Friday deals going on still, Cyber Monday-ish deals. Um, there's really no such thing as Black Friday or Cyber Monday anymore. Pretty much all that they have deals all the way up through Christmas. So you may be able to find a really good deal on having some of those extra pieces that you can just keep in a bag. Okay, so next is keeping a plain pouch and plain as in like airplane pouch.

SPEAKER_02:

It's basically your survival kit, like your noise canceling earbuds, chargers, lip balm, gum, wipes, pen, little snack, all in one pouch that you can just move from bag to bag. Do I have an extra certain pair of earbuds that I use specifically for front? Fine. Yes, I do.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean, it helps. And like for me, my bag, my survival bag has dramamine in it. So that I always have dramamine and I don't forget it. I talk about using it with rides, but I also sometimes, it's not always, but for whatever reason, like sometimes I get queasy when we're on a plane and it's mostly with landing, but I I have to make sure that I take that before I go, and I can't forget the habit.

SPEAKER_02:

Next up, keep a dedicated travel charging set. This one saves me constantly. You basically just keep a dedicated charger set in your suitcase. Do not let your kids or do not pull from it when you feel like you need to, because then when it comes time to travel, you will be missing your cord and you'll be kicking yourself at 10 p.m. the night before 18 for your cord.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, the one thing that I don't have an extra of and I do need to get it is my watch charger. So far, so good, I haven't forgotten it. But I have, oh my gosh, I have two teenage girls. So I don't know what they do with their chargers. If they eat them, I I'm not really sure, but they go through chargers and chart and blocks. I'm like, what what have to what has happened to these things? Like I keep I like buy them and they evaporate. I've had the same charger for I don't even know how long that has been in my bag that I use as my basically, like you're saying, like your dedicated backup, you know, for travel. And then my also the one that I use every day. I don't understand what they do with them, but they somehow they go everywhere. They get rid of them, they somehow lose them. And I'm constantly buying them, but I do try to not take from that travel bag because it never fails that we get to the destination or we're in the car driving somewhere, and I don't I don't know where my charger is. I don't have my charger. I forgot to bring my charger, you know, and so I have those chargers already available.

SPEAKER_02:

I even do this with our Disney stuff, the magic bands. I have a charging block that has like four or five USBs on it, and then like an extra external brick. They all stay in that pouch and it's always ready to go. So, like you said, we're not we're not looking for it at the last second or stopping to buy one in the airport.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's so frustrating. Store digital copies of everything. So create a travel album on your phone and put your digital copies of your ID, so your license, um, your passport, if you need vaccine cards or anything, your confirmations of your tickets, to be honest. A lot of times I also just in case something goes wonky with the some something goes wonky with the the airport Wi-Fi or something, copies of your boarding passes. Like do a screenshot of your boarding pass and stick it in there.

SPEAKER_02:

Screenshot all the things. You go to a different country, you might not even have access to it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And then even, you know, sometimes take it one step further and email copies to yourself and to the rest of your travel party, whether that's your spouse or your friends, and you know, you're going on a girl strip or something, that will all make sure that even if you happen to lose your phone or one of them loses their phone, that you still can get to your email typically from anywhere.

SPEAKER_02:

If you have kids, especially when flying, I always carry copies of their birth certificates, not the official copies, just printed on regular paper, and I fold them into my crossbody. Since I'm fly with them solo, I actually get asked more often than not to see a copy of a birth certificate. So it's just habit. They're always with me now, all three of them.

SPEAKER_01:

Obviously, my girls are a little bit older, but I don't think we had, even when we flew with them when they were, I think Ella was really the only one that was young enough that I really needed it. We never got asked, but you know, security is so much different, you know, than 10 years ago. That would stress me out.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, and that's I've I didn't realize that people don't get asked for them. Like I've mentioned it to other travel agents, and they're like, I've never once been asked. I was like, oh, probably nine times out of ten, I guess. So I don't know if it's just because I always have a lap child or if it's flying solo or just the way things are nowadays, but I can't not have them.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I can definitely see them asking if you don't buy the ticket and your child's sitting in your lap, I can see why they would do it for that reason. But otherwise, I think that's very weird.

SPEAKER_02:

Next up, having packing checklist ready. If you lent to the note section of my phone, you think I'm a crazy person because I have all sorts of packing lists, carry-on, beach trip, theme parks, cruises, all the checklists.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I have those and reuse them all the time. It's such a huge help. I will say that they do change as your kids get older. Obviously, my list for the beach, you know, used to have sand toys and flippers and goggles and things like that. They don't have that stuff as much anymore, or like blankies and things like that. Although the girls do still bring their blankets, don't get me wrong, but they just pack those on their own, and I don't have to remember to do them. Also, track all your rewards numbers or numbers that you need for traveling in one place. So things like your airline rewards number for hotels, for rental cars, your TSA pre-check, your KTN number. Obviously, not just yours. If you have multiple family members that are under TSA pre-check, uh, you want to make sure you have everybody's numbers in one spot that you can get to them easily.

SPEAKER_02:

They probably have dedicated travel apps or you could use your notes app. I use my contacts and I have like all of our Southwest Rapids rewards and all of our TSA pre-checks. If you do not have a travel rewards for your children that you're booking flights for, do with it. Sign them up, get their own number so they're earning points as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Pre-book transportation before you get to your destination. Yes, you can get an Uber. I mean, Ubers are great and they work a lot of times, but a lot of times there may not be an Uber wherever you're landing, or there may not be enough Ubers or Lyfts around, and you end up waiting for them, especially if it's in the middle of the night.

SPEAKER_02:

This is especially important for international destinations. A lot of them, if they even have Uber, they might have certain contracts for it with taxis that they can't even want the Ubers into the airport. Just make sure it's already taken care of. Next up on the list, keep snacks stocked. Always having protein bars, travel-friendly snacks, drink mixes stocked, so you can just toss them into your carry-on. Like the pre-packaged goldfish are gold in this house. I was going through travel bags the other day, and the kids each have their own like little backpack bag for travel, and it is full of goldfish that have fallen out of the bag into the bottom of the backpack. Goldfish, some kind of granola bar, applesauce pile juice. That's that's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01:

I love to have just because of my because I'm gluten-free, and also just to make sure that I have something that has protein in it, I love having like packs of almonds and also the chomps. They have like little travel versions of it. I love those. And I love the what are they called? They're like it's a Sargento product, and they're called like something like break time or something like that. But they're little pouches. They have cheese and usually dry some type of dried fruit like cranberries and maybe almonds or something like that. Sometimes they have crackers. Anyway, it's just a quick, easy thing that you that's pre-packaged that you can throw in. I also love bringing my favorite flavor of liquid IV. I use that all the time, and I'm probably a little bit addicted to it. I love passion fruit. That's the flavor I like. And whenever I go places, if I don't have it and I have to buy a a different flavor, maybe they just don't have it. It's just lame. So I usually bring that with me.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, you can attest to my coconut Celsius dry packets that I put in my Diet Coke every time we're at the park.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, absolutely. Always check Google Flights and airline sites.

SPEAKER_02:

As pros, we always compare both. And then we probably always book on a desktop, not on your mobile, just for more visibility, fewer glitches, and your cookies because maybe track in.

SPEAKER_01:

Everything. And so I'm generally more likely to do something on my phone instead of on my laptop, unless I absolutely have to. So I probably need to be better about this particular one and comparing.

SPEAKER_02:

Next up, reset the suitcase immediately. I need to be better at this because mine stays packed. And I don't, I'm so bad at unpacking it. When you get home, just reset your suitcase, your laundry out, your toiletry is refilled, your basics packed again, just so it's ready to go for next time. But the kicker here is I actually have to unpack it first.

SPEAKER_01:

I am so bad at this. I will say, I'm horrible at this. I actually went, I think it might have been the beach trip that we went on to Vero Beach in July. And I just did not unpack my suitcase. It just sat in my closet, and Rob was giving me a hard time. And I was like, if I leave it long enough, I'll just be packed already for the cruise. So it'll it'll be fine. It'll it's gonna work out. It's gonna be just fine. I think the biggest thing is like making sure that you have the toiletries refilled. Like if you happen to use up whatever you used, like stuff like that. That's really, really the big one, I feel like that I'm not as good at.

SPEAKER_02:

That was me making a mental note that I need new travel body wash. So the next time I'm at Bath and Body, I need to pick up a new small one. Because they never have the scent I like when I need it.

SPEAKER_01:

And it's on definitely Black Friday. Yeah. Right now, like everything's 40% off, I think, right now. Make sure that you carry a wet stuff bag. And really, I think wet stuff and also just dirty laundry, just to have a separate bag for both of those is nice to have.

SPEAKER_02:

This is what I like to do all the time is I bring an additional tiny toe or foldable bag of some sort for beach days, theme parks, overflow on the way home. Mine starts as a pool bag, it doubles as a wet bag if I need to. Then it usually turns into a carry-on for all the excess souvenirs. But it folds up so small, like why not just like stick it in there?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Seriously. I have enough, especially like the reusable bags from just wherever Disney, the grocery store, whatever. I mean, it's very easy to just throw something in there. This is just reiterating what we were talking about before, like having digital copies. But if you're able to screenshot everything that you have, your boarding passes, your room confirmations, park tickets, your parking spot, especially like you park at the airport, and you're gonna come back a week later and you have zero idea where you parked, it makes it much easier to know that you're in 2e and not, you know, go all over the place trying to find where you are. In general, Wi-Fi everywhere can be spotty, or your cell service could also be spotty, and it can make a difference and be much less stressful if you know you have a screenshot and not have to worry about your connection to bring it up.

SPEAKER_02:

Next on a list, this just came in handy for me last week. Carry a mini first aid kit or wellness kit. So your dramamine, your modium, kids' meds, motion sickness bands. You don't want to be caught unprepared. So I always have newsporn, some band-aids, some blister care, some kids' Tylenol, adult Tylenol, basically. And what do you know? We had a cut last week, I had to use it. I was digging shells out of someone's foot, we had to use it again. You never know when you all need it.

SPEAKER_01:

My kids, which I I they're gonna have to like figure this out eventually, but they don't like to take pills. So they really should be taking at this point, they're 12 and 14, they really are at a point where they could transition into adult advil or tylenol or whatever, but they say that they're not able to swallow them. It just they just can't do it. So I always have the chewable motrin, and they also have the little Tylenol, it's like acetaminophen. At least Walgreens has them. They're like basically almost like water, like stick packets that you can you can put into water. Yeah, it dissolves in water and it's acetaminophen. If you want to have those, it makes it just makes it easy when you're traveling. Obviously, I love to have dramamine. I need to have dramamine. I can't really go without it, and I don't want to be stuck somewhere where I don't have access to it. Most of the time you can get a lot of those things easily, but sometimes you don't want to have to run out to the store or go spend three times what you would spend just ordering it off of Amazon or getting it from Walgreens.

SPEAKER_02:

Or you're stuck in the middle of the mountains in Virginia and there's not any at the gas station and you have queasy kids.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. Next on the list is knowing the best times to fly. Thinking like, you know, 8 p.m. on a Friday winter flight, you're probably gonna face delays. In MCO in Orlando, afternoon flights throughout the summer for sure, the summer months, you're almost always gonna get delayed because of a storm coming through. So you want to try to schedule really before noon if you're gonna be flying out of MCO and you don't want to worry about getting delayed.

SPEAKER_02:

We do this a lot when we're flying home for Christmas. If we have the choice, need a layover. Are we gonna choose Phoenix or Denver? Always Phoenix during the winter because Denver, we always get delayed because of the snow. So just thinking through little things like that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and and stuff like knowing like Sunday evening and Monday mornings, a lot of times that's when people fly out for business that are doing their business trips. So the airports are crazy. Same thing, probably Thursday night and Friday mornings, probably more a Thursday evening, are crazy because that's when people are coming back, flying back into town when they travel for business. It could be nuts.

SPEAKER_02:

Not only for busyness, but also for pricing. We'll also get a usually get a better price if you can fly midweek, avoid weekends.

SPEAKER_01:

Early. If you can get out, a lot of times they're really early flights, even though it sucks having to get to the airport that early. Yes. But it can be several hundred dollars per person.

SPEAKER_02:

You hear us talk about it all the time. TSA pre-check. I don't think we need to say anymore, just get it. It's 80 bucks for five years, and your kids are umbrellaed under you. You don't have a reason to not get it if you fly more than one time every year.

SPEAKER_01:

It makes such a huge difference. The funny story about my friend that would travel just traveled with me. We flew out of Charlotte and we both got to the airport pretty much at the same time. He got dropped off and I parked. And I was getting on the shuttle to take me over to the terminal. Um and he got dropped off directly. So I was I was a little bit behind him. I got to our gate, probably at least 30 minutes, maybe 45 minutes before he did, because I had TSA pre-check. And he told me when he walked up, he said, when I first walked in, I thought, wow, this is not crowded at all. This is not too bad. And then he realized that it was a TSA pre-check line. And he's like, Oh, and then I had to go like get in line with all the other losers that didn't have TSA pre-check.

SPEAKER_02:

Same sort of story with John wouldn't get it forever. And we were in Orlando. Me and the kids were through. We actually sat down and ate and were done. And he said he would get his own food, and he almost didn't have time for food because it took him 45 minutes.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And he was running to the gate. And we were through and relaxed and fed, and it was all sunshine for us, not for him.

SPEAKER_01:

It's such a huge difference. Like you said, it's really not that hard to do it.

SPEAKER_02:

You can do it at staples now, people.

SPEAKER_01:

And especially if you already have your passports, like it's even easier. If you've done your passport, you already you've already done a majority of what they need for you to have. So this is one it depends on your trip, mastering the the carry-on strategy. So if you have a bigger trip and you're going on a longer trip, or you know, you need to have that larger suitcase that you need to check. Sometimes that's the case. But if there's any way that you can not check a bag and bring a carry-on suitcase and then your separate bag that you put underneath the seat, that's the best way to do this so that you don't have to worry about losing your luggage first. And then secondly, that you don't have to wait for an extra 30, 45 minutes for your luggage to come around the pickup area and deal with that when you've already been on a plane and you're trying to get out of the airport, and then you have to sit and wait on your luggage to come around. That's the worst. So this also was one of the examples from my friend that just traveled. He doesn't travel very often. And so they offered, you know, free and this was when he checked in. So first of all, he used one of the kiosks to check in. He did not check in on his phone. He printed, he printed his ticket, which that's fine. Not everybody wants to do the phone thing. But whenever he did that, it asked him, Do you want to check your bag? It's free. And so he was like, Yeah, sure, it's free. And then when he got to me, I was like, Why did you do that? And he's like, What do you mean? It was free. It's not a big deal. And I said, Well, then you're now you're gonna have to like wait for your luggage, which means I'm gonna have to wait for your luggage. And hopefully, like it doesn't get lost, you know, and I'm like going through this whole thing. And we were, and it was funny because I was just giving him a hard time mostly. But we got in line and there was a lady in front of us, and we were chatting with her, and he said something to her that I was like giving him a hard time about it. And she thought at first that he said he had checked it at the gate. And I said, Oh no, no, no. He didn't check it at the gate, as like one of those people when they're like, You want to volunteer to check it at the gate? And you know, it's free, blah, blah, blah, whatever. At least you know that it's going on the plane when you do it that way.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I said, Oh no, no. He didn't check it at the gate, he checked it when he like checked in, and her face was so hilarious. She was like, Oh. And he was like, Okay, well, apparently I'm an idiot. I'm not supposed to check my bag. But that was one of the things that he's like, you're supposed to tell me these things. And I was like, I didn't know that you were gonna check your bag. You didn't ask me. If you had asked me, I would have said, No, do not check your bag. But yeah, that was pretty funny.

SPEAKER_02:

We're a sight to see when we're coming through the airport with our carry-ons because all my kids have little suitcases, they have their backpack, they're ready to go. It's quite the sight, but then it's quick off straight to the pickup, and we're ready to pull.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you're gone, you're done, you're good. Yeah. Keep a last minute laundry stash around. So pros always have a backup set of leggings, sports bra, socks, shirt, let's get clean and ready to throw in the suitcase.

SPEAKER_02:

I didn't even realize I did this until I found a tiny packing cube in my suitcase with a sports bra, a swimsuit, socks, undies, and a t-shirt that I had just left in there from last trip. So it's probably just gonna stay there from now on. I always have the swimsuit ready to go.

SPEAKER_01:

And that is something I think that people forget a lot. Like they forget, they don't think about the swimsuit. It is one of the things that's on all of my my different packing lists, depending on what I'm doing. I have it on the list because it is something that people forget to bring if that's not like the top of their mind.

SPEAKER_02:

Next up, put air tags in every bag. We've talked about this all the time, but your suitcase, your stroller, backpack on my camera, everything gets an air tag. You can track it, especially if you have to, heaven forbid, check a bag over even when you do an airside and the stroller and just making sure that it's not sitting out there on the tarmac, so you can make sure it made it on the plane. Helpful for your destination, helpful if it gets stolen. Just use air tag. They're so cheap when you buy a pack of four nowadays.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and I'll say the same thing. Like, I think we've had an example where someone lost their luggage when they got on a cruise and they were able to find it. When we got on the ship, all of our luggage was there except for my husband's luggage. It was fine. It eventually got there. But having an air tag that shows you it's it's here. They just haven't gotten it to us yet. So it's okay. It's not a big deal. That that can make just for peace of mind, so that you're not stressed out that your luggage got lost and it got left somewhere. Keep a grab and go entertainment kit for the kids. So coloring books, reusable sticker pads, even like get small surprise toys to have for them, something that's just new, mess-free snacks. And also, I'll say mess-free toys. Like, don't bring play-doh on the plane.

SPEAKER_02:

No play-doh, no play-doh. These always stay packed in my kids' travel bags. I'm always picking up cheap little dollar store surprises to refill. Nothing is anything they'd be devastated to lose. Everything is seems to be new and exciting because it's not an everyday toy, which means longer entertainment. I just have like a little neoprene double-sided zip pouch, one-sided snacks, one sided toys. They love to see those things coming because they know there's something good in it.

SPEAKER_01:

A similar example for it, like when your kids get older, or even for adults, this would be making sure that you have downloaded podcast episodes or an audiobook or even a movie, which they obviously they do have things like that typically on the plane Wi Fi if you're on a plane. But it really does help if you're flying, since you go into airplane mode. If you want to listen to something specific, make sure you have that downloaded before you have to. Go into airplane mode.

SPEAKER_02:

That's a great point. And if you didn't know, if you download a movie on Netflix, it expires after like 48 hours. So you have to re-download it. So it's available offline. So just make sure you're ready.

SPEAKER_01:

Make sure you have, yeah. Make sure that you've double checked all of that stuff. That is one thing that I did tell Chris to do. And he was very happy that I reminded him to do that because he would have forgotten. Bring a waterproof phone pouch. I love these. I've used I use them all the time whenever we're doing anything. I love them for because they do protect your phone, not just from the water, but from the sand if you're at the beach. But for taking videos at the beach, if you want to be out in the water and getting like fun. Obviously, Crystal and I love to get content, but if you're just trying to get videos of the family or pictures of the family and you don't want to worry about your phone getting messed up, these are these are the best. And they just stay in my suitcase that I have already kind of pre-packed. It's part of my like pre-packed bag that I have ready.

SPEAKER_02:

I have a little sweatpack pouch. I got it like a Target in the dollar section years ago. And I always just keep it handy for when we're going somewhere tropical. So it has like powder sunscreen, lip balm, some small bills of cash, towel bands, my phone case, waterproof phone case. That bag does great for keeping my eyebook dry. But John's always like, Where's your little beach pouch? Because it always comes in handy.

SPEAKER_01:

You should add, if you don't have it in there, you should add baby powder that helps get sand off.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, it's in there.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Little bottle of after skin.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02:

And there's about like four different types of sunscreen in there because you can't get the big ones through TSA. So there's like an aerosol, a powder, a lotion, and just there's then when they're gone, you can throw them away because they're just a little teeny tiny.

SPEAKER_01:

They're just the little ones, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

This is a big one for us. We know our no-fail airport meal spots. We always know which terminals have edible food and which ones to sprint past. There was a long stretch when we lived in Detroit that we flew through Chicago Midway all the time and we loved it because they had a pot belly and we didn't have on where we lived. Even now, I hate flying through Phoenix because the Southwest Terminal doesn't have any like good, cheap fast food. So, like, we if we have the choice and it's a difference of ten dollars, it makes a big difference.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. There are, yeah, there are some airports where like once you're past security, they don't have anything. I'm like, what's what's the deal, man? Like all the good stuff is before you go through security. I cannot stand that. Charlotte is really good. Obviously, I know where the Starbucks is in every terminal because I always have to get one before I leave, even though I'm paying like$10 for something I usually spend$5 on. Yeah, it's it's good to know where where your spots are.

SPEAKER_02:

I think that's all of our travel like a pro tips for now, all of our little everyday habits that make all of our trips easier. These are things that, like we said, they just come naturally to us. Hopefully, you found something that's helpful.

SPEAKER_01:

And if you have anything that you that we didn't cover that you think is a big deal that you always have to do before you travel, please let us know. Send it, send it to us, and we'll make sure to get that posted or we'll talk about it on our next episode. All of you out there that are chronic overpackers, you always are losing your chargers, you forget your toothbrush or your razors. This episode is definitely uh specifically for for you all. It helps to have some of these things in your back pocket before you go on your next trip. So save this episode so that you can listen to it before you go on your next big trip as a reminder.

SPEAKER_02:

And if you're a season pro, send this to your family members that don't ever travel that you're going with. So they're not holding you up at TSA pre-check.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Right. It is funny because with my friends, I was like, I'm not waiting on you. You can go through your non-TSA pre-check line. I'm not waiting on that. I'm going through my line. So yeah, don't be that person that has to go through the regular security line whenever it's so easy to get TSA pre-check. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening. We hope you enjoyed this episode. And again, hope that these tips were very helpful to you all. We hope you all have a great week and we'll chat with you all next week. Bye.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Wonderlust and Wishes.

SPEAKER_02:

If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.

SPEAKER_00:

And remember, the world is full of wonders waiting to be explored. Until next time, happy travels. Bye for now. Free audio postproduction by Alphonic.com.