As a teacher, I’d often get sick at the start of the year after a semester spent at home. I now work from home every day, and after a recent trip to the US that led me on 10 flights in 3 weeks, I marveled on my return that I hadn’t gotten sick. Since I stay at home all the time, it seemed like a miracle that I hadn’t caught a virus on my mass exposure to thousands of people in Shanghai, New York City, Atlanta, Nashville, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
Vegas has changed, but still showed out on my brief visit.
Oops! Five days in, that virus struck, and I now write on a day off from work to recover. After sleeping until 1 pm, I summoned the strength to eat something and made coffee to ward off a headache. Since I talk to people all day at work, and the chief symptom of my illness is a wickedly sore throat, that was out of the question for today–but I can write!
Since I embrace slow travel and imbue it with my OCD-branded “need for a purpose,” I tend to go a long time without a trip, and when I take one, to make it a big one filled with purposeful stops in one area. That area was the United States this summer, and once I was thrust back into the mayhem of an international journey–or, really, before, when I began planning it 3-4 months beforehand–it hit me that there are several things I take for granted, and do automatically, that have made my experience of travel incredibly smooth over the course of my quarter-million-miles on Delta, and probably 100,000 more on other airlines.
For better or worse, I realized upon reflection that while these tips would be particularly helpful to singles, they may be less effective for those with families. I am so impressed every year by how my own siblings travel efficiently with their own kids, but I would be terrible at it. Thus, these tips are more for people who travel alone, or with an adult friend or partner.
Travel Tip #1: Goldilocks Layovers (Not Too Long, Not Too Short)
For years, I swore by two-hour layovers between domestic flights, three-hour layovers for international ones, and the longer, the better. Honestly, most of this is still a pretty good rule of thumb: unless they’re leaving from New York City, most flights won’t be delayed more than an hour, which still allows plenty of time for both you and your luggage to successfully make the transfer. In a note that tempts fate, I’ll add that I have never lost a bag over an estimated 100 flights in my lifetime (probably more, but then, COVID…)
When you add customs and passport control to the mix, you usually need to collect and recheck your baggage, which takes time. For international layovers, I allot three hours, and again, have never missed a flight or lost a bag–except for one flight from Dubai to Kuwait, when my friend and I arrived hours early, only to postpone checking in until it was too late because (quite frankly) we simply didn’t wish to return to Kuwait! (No offense–it just wasn’t our favorite place to live, and we let our dread get the best of us.) Thankfully, that time, it only cost us about $40 to take a later flight that same day.
Dubai was worth the fun, though! And the extra 440 for our extended stay.
Of course, such time frames aren’t always easy to get ahold of, and people may not wish to spent a whole afternoon or day getting to a domestic destination, just to ensure they don’t miss a flight. Generally, anything over 90 minutes has worked for me domestically, while two-and-a-half hours has also worked fine on flights from Asia to North America, where I have the most experience.
In my early twenties, I once spent two eight-hour layovers in Seoul, and in my early thirties, spent a day happily exploring Amsterdam for a long layover. They were fun! On my most recent trip, though, when I took a flight from Beijing to Shanghai and then on to a massive layover in Seattle before reaching Atlanta, I realized that I have an upper limit. While the overnight layover in Shanghai should have been fine–I got a hotel and had 10 hours to rest!–I struggled to sleep that evening, and on the flight to Seattle, which meant that my time in Seattle was even more sleep-deprived than planned. In addition, I failed to consider that I would be going back in time 15 hours, not the usual 12 to my family on the East Coast, which messed with my head even more; and finally, the original layover, which was seven hours, became nine by the time my flight left Shanghai due to schedule changes beyond my control.
All of this meant that my time in Seattle, a fun and beautiful place, was downright painful. I still managed to have a good time–the first city you land in in your home country always feels a bit like a fairy tale after living in a foreign country for awhile–but it was tough. Thus, as I plan my next trip, I now realize that I need a “Goldilocks” layover–long enough to ensure that I don’t miss my next flight, but not so long that I am a zombie when I arrive at my last destination.
This OG version of the Starbucks Doubleshot was my first “fairytale moment” upon re-entry. It has real cream and much less sugar, while the Chinese version uses milk and a lot more sugar.
Travel Tip #2: Know Thyself, and Prepare for the Worst
On my return flight to China after a heady few weeks with family and friends, I was sorely tempted to toss my high school graduation album into my checked suitcase. It’s a 5×7-inch old-fashioned affair, but I knew bringing it back to Beijing would make me feel more at home there on lonely nights. As small as it was, it would have fit easily into my large suitcases, and I was not looking forward to a TSA agent rifling through its pages and wondering why a woman in her thirties was carrying it around with her!
Still, I knew that it was not an item that I could stand to lose, so I threw it into my carry-on luggage. That’s the second part of the tip: “Prepare for the worst.” Never put items in your checked suitcase that you couldn’t handle losing due to their sentimental, practical or literal value. For me, this means always having a few pairs of underwear tucked into my carry-on, as well as extra pairs of contacts, a small bottle of contact solution, and my glasses. I also include whatever journals I have chosen to carry with me on that particular trip, and any legal documents related to my visa in China. Baby wipes and face lotion are other items that I keep on hand. Finally, I include a couple of pairs of socks, my toothbrush and a travel-sized tube of toothpaste, and at least one shirt that I could change into, even if it’s just a t-shirt or a tank top (in the summer). I never assume that my checked bags will make it to my final destination, and while I can’t control the amount of liquid that I can take on a plane, there are plenty of non-liquid items that can be carried on my person.
My carry-on bags, along with the sweatshirt I bought after forgetting a green sweatshirt in a garment bag I checked.
If your luggage is lost, the feeling of despair can be terrible. Knowing that you have the basic supplies to keep yourself clean, comfortable and (in the case of the vision-impaired) able to see goes a long way towards ameliorating the sense of loss and frustration.
As for part two: KNOW THYSELF… I have friends who proudly refuse to check luggage and love the feeling of getting off a plane and flying past baggage claim. They are fantastic packers and don’t need huge, lumbering suitcases, although they may not travel as often internationally. It’s also a great way to save money, of course, if you travel on a budget and don’t want to pay to check a bag, or two, in my case. This is a breezy, admirable manner of travel, and if it’s you, you should embrace it!
Breezy like these lovely dresses at the Overstory in NYC.
In sharp contrast, since I often have long layovers in foreign countries or in cities that I want to explore, a little rolling suitcase can lead to nightmares. They fare poorly on the cobbled streets of many European countries, and having to pay to store them defeats the point and wastes time. Basically, I had a bad experience in Madrid and Paris and do not wish to repeat it ;-). I like over-the-shoulder bags that I can shove under the seat in a pinch, sit on my lap on public buses, and that basically look like giant purses–so I check my little rolling suitcase and never bring it onto a plane.
As a solo traveler, I developed a bit of a complex when trying to carry on my rolling suitcase. The moment when you go to lift the suitcase into the overhead bin is not a big deal if you have a partner to help you, but when you travel alone, you need to have good upper-body strength, strong nerves and good hand-eye coordination. I do not, and I hate holding people up. My version of striding confidently past the “losers” at baggage claim is walking swiftly to my seat and then getting the hell out of the way of the people behind me. I simply LOVE not needing to stop for those (at best) 5-10 seconds, or (at worst) 20-30, if I have a particularly small connection with tiny overhead bins or a particularly heavy rolling suitcase.
Unrelated photo of the beautiful B/M/W bridges in NYC.
The feeling of freedom I get from never having to heed the repeated calls of gate agents to check my rolling suitcase because luggage space is scarce is also its own kind of freedom from anxiety that I simply love. (I love a good gate-check as much as anyone, but once almost sent mini bottles of alcohol to Kuwait, where such things are illegal! The gate agent had to run after the bag and grab it before it was handled by the waiting employee. Lest you teetotalers judge, pork and ham products are equally verboten in Kuwait, so the wrong kind of jerky, and you’re equally in trouble ;-). But, I digress.) This put a slight kibosh on my desire to check bags at the last minute, which also relates to my ADD. I am very out-of-sight, out-of-mind, so planning things out beforehand works better for my brain.
If your bag is a big purse, it may be heavy, but it can only get so much so before you simply can’t afford to carry it. Most airports have a little luggage cart you can use if it gets annoying, too. Small rolling suitcases, on the other hand, can be deceptive. After a few flights wherein I had to huff and puff or depend on the mercy of strangers to get my heifer of a bag up above me, I abandoned the pretense of being a “light” traveler. I still use one small and one large rolling suitcase, though, because the small size ensures that I’ll never go over the weight limit for checked baggage in at least one of my suitcases. That said, I am loyal to Delta where possible, and I use apps in China like Trip.com1 that allow you to buy extra luggage on Chinese airlines cheaply, so I can afford to check bags. It all depends on your style.
For me, dropping off my bags and sailing through security because I have a lot less STUFF for the agents to process is divine. And when I arrive? I always stop by the bathroom to tidy up, so I rarely wait at baggage claim for more than a few minutes.
TL, DR: If you pack heavy and want to avoid anxiety during layovers and the actual experience of flying, check your bags. If you pack light, don’t suffer from anxiety/have a partner to help you lift a rolling suitcase into the overhead bins, and don’t mind babysitting them on long layovers, then don’t check the smaller one, or any at all!
San Diego was beautiful, too.
I do recommend having a small rolling suitcase, though, so you have flexibility either way. A Delta gate agent once told me that you can check nearly any smaller suitcase, even if you’ve maxed out your allowance. In other words, on my most recent flight, I checked a second carry-on (a garment bag) and had three total bags checked, for the price of two.
Travel Tip 3: Mind the Time of Day & Year
I don’t like getting sweaty. I also don’t like delays. When you fly internationally, you have more control in some ways, and less in others, and these are worth considering.
For one, if your flights all occur in the same hemisphere, consider the weather. On my most recent trip, I repeatedly chose flights that arrived at destinations late at night or early in the morning. Why? Since I was traveling in late June and July, I knew that many of them (like Atlanta and Las Vegas) would be brutally hot during the day, especially in the afternoon. As miserable as I was in Seattle due to sleep-deprivation, I would have felt far worse if I’d arrived at most destinations in the afternoon. Heat–the kind of summer heat in the US right now–strips you of sanity and joy and leaves you a sweaty husk of a person. Avoid it when booking flights, if you can.
Night landings in Vegas never cease to amaze.
In addition, after sitting for about two-and-a-half hours at JFK on the plane one evening on my way to Atlanta, I remembered The Point’s Guys tips about NYC airports. Since I’d watched it long before my trip, I completely forgot about it when booking that flight out–but you can bet I’ll remember for my next one! He shared that, obviously, first flights out are far less likely to be delayed than those later in the day at busy airports. Thus, a 6 or 7 am flight is much more likely to take off on time than its counterpart 12 hours later. This is a tip I plan to employ when I fly around Christmas time.
There you have it! Mind the weather, pick your travel style, and do your best to mitigate risk. There’s nothing ground-breaking here, but I have a pretty great track record for genuine satisfaction in flights, and after 20+ years of flying, I think that counts.
New York was worth the wait on the runway.
What tips do you have for travel? Share below!
I’ll probably make this a series and add more tips in coming months, but for now, share YOUR intel, please!
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