In my latest Recomendo newsletter (subscribe here!) I wrote about my travel packing list. It’s a PDF that can be edited in Adobe Illustrator (because I don’t expect anyone to pack the same things I do). As you can see, my list is broken down into sublists of different bags: charger bag, meds bag, tool bag, etc. I keep the stuff in these excellent Japanese mesh zipper bags. Now I don’t forget important things any more like I used to. I recommend that you make a similar packing list for yourself. Read the rest

Airport and airplane food is usually bad, especially if you are on a low-carb diet. A lot of times I just won't eat anything at all from the time I arrive at the airport until I arrive at my destination hotel or Airbnb. But I also keep a few of these grass-fed beef bars from Mission Meats with me, which, unlike beef jerky, have no sugar. They taste good and one bar curbs my hunger for a long time. Read the rest

Honest Guide is a YouTube channel for people planning to visit Prague (and sometimes other places in Europe). In this video, you are warned to stay away from Euronet ATMs. Apparently, they are located only in tourist areas. They can detect when a foreign card is inserted and offers terrible exchange rates (15% less than the going rate), plus they tack on a 4 USD fee. Read the rest

Use coupon code H7Z3OIO9 and you can buy this digital readout luggage scale for $5 on Amazon. I bought one a few years ago and use it every time we take a family trip. Read the rest

Travel writer Ben Schlappig uses something called "mileage running" to accumulate lots of travel miles.

Mileage running works by collecting miles on cheap flights and spending them on expensive ones. Over a week, Ben might take over 30 discounted flights. They only cost him $800 and he'll earn over 62500 air miles. He then uses those miles to buy a first class ticket to Japan, which would have cost him $13,000.

[via] Read the rest

My friend, the brilliant Pam Grossman (What is a Witch, Phantasmaphile), posted the following discovery on her Facebook page.

You are undoubtedly already familiar with the fact that the armrests on plane seats can be raised and lowered, all expect for the aisle rest. Turns out, that one can also be raised, if you can find the lever. It's under the armrest (if it exists on your model aircraft) and probably looks something like the one above. Pam describes her squee in finding it to be a for-real feature:

I have been taking a lot of flights of late, and so I have garnered a few tips to offer re: how to make things *slightly* less horrid when doing so. But holy horses, this one changed my life on this last go-round. When I tried it - and it worked! - it was all I could do to keep from leaping to my feet and crowing about it to my fellow passengers like some sort of zealous banshee.

In the responses on her FB page, someone asked about the other "few tips" she alluded to. I asked Pam's permission to include her reply here. There may be a few useful ideas in here for you. I have recently become a convert of 1 & 2:

Oh, not secrets. Just silly little tips. Here are a few more: 1. TSA Pre-Check is highly worth it and makes everything so much better. 2. Buying a carry-on wheelie bag with 4 wheels that go in all directions is worth it 3.

Read the rest

Rachel Grant makes good use of ziplock bags to stuff over 100 travel items into a carry-on bag.

[via] Read the rest

In each episode of Gadgets the editors and friends of Boing Boing recommend technology they love and use. This time Jason and Mark talk about the best chess timer for Scrabble players, a fantastic pizza stone, a compact 3-outlet adapter for hotel use, and a great magic trick for under $5. Plus, a website that converts PDFs to Kindle format.