What’s one piece of travel advice you always follow?
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Apparently, some people travel so often that they’ve developed rules for doing it. They know how to pack, when to arrive at the airport, where to sit on the plane, and how to navigate unfamiliar cities. Some probably have spreadsheets detailing the optimal time to purchase airline tickets and the statistical likelihood of getting an aisle seat.
I’m not one of those people. I don’t travel nearly enough to have developed a comprehensive set of travel rules. My approach generally involves throwing some clothes into a suitcase, making sure I’ve packed enough underwear, and hoping I haven’t forgotten anything important. Anything beyond that requires more planning than I’m accustomed to doing.
But I do have two pieces of advice, both of which could save you considerable trouble. The first is to weigh your bags before leaving home.
Airlines have very definite opinions about how much your luggage should weigh, and they tend to express those opinions in dollars. Apparently, an airline can fly a 200-ton aircraft across the country without difficulty, but an extra three pounds in your suitcase threatens to bring the entire aviation industry to its knees.
And the penalties aren’t insignificant. You could probably purchase an entirely new wardrobe at your destination for what some airlines charge you to transport the one you already own.
It’s much easier to rearrange your belongings in your bedroom than at the ticket counter, with a line of impatient travelers watching you transfer shoes and underwear from one suitcase to another. There’s something particularly humiliating about having complete strangers observe you deciding which pair of socks is worth another $75. Besides, the people behind you have flights to catch. They don’t want to watch you conduct an emergency yard sale at the check-in counter.
My second piece of advice is even more important: Double-check your carry-on luggage before heading to the airport. And I don’t mean making sure you’ve packed your toothbrush.
I mean checking every pocket, every compartment, and every little zippered space you haven’t opened since your last trip. Because something that seemed perfectly harmless when you tossed it into your bag six months ago might suddenly become a matter of national security when it passes through an X-ray machine.
Airport security personnel have an understandably limited sense of humor about certain things. And while you might find it amusing to discover that you’ve accidentally brought something prohibited through the checkpoint, the person wearing the TSA badge probably won’t share your enthusiasm.
In fact, I’m fairly certain that “I completely forgot that was in there” ranks somewhere near the bottom of their list of reassuring statements. Neither is “That’s not mine,” which, come to think of it, probably makes matters worse.
The goal, of course, is to avoid becoming the subject of a lengthy interview in a small room while your fellow passengers board the airplane without you. Or worse, finding yourself on a government watch list. I imagine getting off one of those lists is considerably more complicated than getting on it. And I’d rather not discover the process firsthand.
Of course, there are other things I could recommend. Arrive early. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring something to read. Don’t get into an argument with the flight attendant. And whatever you do, don’t be the passenger who applauds when the plane lands. The pilot was supposed to do that.
But those seem like reasonably obvious suggestions. I don’t travel often enough to offer much advice about seeing the world. I can’t tell you which hotels have the best breakfasts, which airports are easiest to navigate, or how to get upgraded to first class.
But I do know that arriving at your destination with your luggage and your freedom intact is a pretty good start.
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Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
