5 Tips for Airport Newbies – learn how to travel better

5 Tips for Airport Newbies! Whether you are a seasoned travel or about to set out on your first trip, there are a few tips that will help you on your journey!

If you’ve been following along on social media, you may have seen that I’ve been doing some traveling this fall! I headed to Expo East in Baltimore, SunButter facilities in Fargo and The Food Allergy Bloggers Conference in Denver! Phew! You might have also noticed that I’ve been sharing about my travels more! Yes, you will be hearing more about my gluten-free travel adventures as they happen! We have some plans for 2017! I can’t wait to share with you!

Traveling can be stressful! BUT with a few tips you can pave the way for less stress! Take a look at my tips that have helped me be a successful traveler this fall!

1. Wear comfortable shoes, especially ones that slip off easily. I tell you this because a large majority of airports not only have you walking what feels like miles, but they have you remove your shoes to go through security. As long as you have easy shoes, getting through security will only be as slow as the person in front of you and if your shoes are comfortable, you won’t feel the walking killing you as much.
2. Bring snacks. For goodness sakes, bring snacks that are airplane approved or you will be spending a fortune in airport food prices on and off the plane. Yes, you will get hungry, I promise you. If you have an eating restriction, plan accordingly. You might not have access to your special food!
3. Get to your gate early. I know some people who come super early and there’s really no reason for it. Definitely get to the airport early but don’t get there too early because then you’re just doing a whole ton of waiting.
4. Bring a book, tablet, anything to pass time. As was mentioned in the last tip, you’ll be doing a lot of waiting. On or off the plane usually consists of a lot of staring into space unless you arrive just in time to board the flight but then you’ve stressed yourself out which just makes trips harder—don’t do that to yourself. Anyways, bring something that doesn’t need internet to be used. You will thank me later.
5. Great luggage. I’m telling you, this is so serious. I have struggled through the airport with sub par luggage and my experience has been horrible. I recently found THE BEST (very serious here!) luggage! I use the 20-inch carryon from The Skyway Luggage Co. as well as the 24-inch Nimbus from The Skyway Luggage Co.! It not only has a hard shell which comes in super handy when your luggage is shoved in the overhead bin, but it has wheels. Folks, it has spinner wheels, can you tell how excited I am over that fact? The wheels are specifically designed to move 360 degrees! They are amazing! The day I used this luggage was the day I said I would never use a carryon without wheels again. It also has a split-book style opening so you can pack in both sides of the suitcase, not to mention the various pockets inside for optimal organization. It has elastic straps on the inside to hold your items in place and…are you ready for it…comes in gorgeous colors! I got my signature GREEN! I have gotten SO much feedback while in the airports from other jealous travelers! It is SO excited to spot when I go to pick up my luggage! As an added bonus for THIS heavy packer, the case expands 2.5 inches to provide additional packing capacity! I literally can’t wait to buy more so that the whole family is covered. With the great price, we can actually afford for everyone to have their own!

The expansion zipper on these pieces of luggage has been a lifesaver for me! The picture above shows just how much MORE room you get!

Airports, plane rides, and traveling in general can be a blast. However, they’re at their most fun when you’re prepared and have little to worry about. I’ve been traveling by plane quite a bit in the last two years, so I wanted to share some of my best tips for airports!

Thank you to The Skyway Luggage Co. for providing samples for us to use and test! We are thankful for the samples!