5 Ultimate Travel Tips and Essentials for Short or Long Distance Trips!

When it comes to traveling, there’s SO much to consider such as what to pack, how much to pack, how many days, is this warm enough, is this enough, where should we go, where should we stay, how long does it take to get there, or did I pack my toothbrush? The questions are ENDLESS and oftentimes no matter how hard or how much you plan you end up forgetting something!

As an avid traveler in NC, I’ve had my fair share of trying different travel essentials to get me from the east to west coast or even the piedmont region of the state. I also have experience traveling outside of the state, planning, prepping, and packing for families of 8 to a family of 2. Traveling isn’t easy or cheap and it requires so much prep work from the beginning until the end of the trip. However, in this blog, I’m here to share with you what I do to make traveling a little bit less hectic, how to save money on the trip, and my top travel essentials that will save you space in your home, car, and AirBnB/hotel!

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#1 PLAN PLAN PLAN-But expect the unexpected :)

I’m a type A kind of girl and with this type of personality mixed with traveling it can either make or break the trip. Too much planning can cause someone to be in control of the whole trip while too little planning causes wasted time, chaos, but sometimes excitement. When traveling, almost always things don’t go as planned which could create frustration, unnecessary negative bantering, and just a whole cloud of negativity when the whole trip was supposed to be a time of rest, fun, and memories with loved ones. To prevent this and to prevent the over controlling type A personality in me, I like to plan my trips with the mindset of “expect the unexpected.” Make plans but leave room for options and if things change just subtly shift things around.

When I plan for trips, I LOVE using Google Sheets so that I can share the plans with my husband, parents, or siblings. I love using Google Sheets because it’s collaborative, FREE, easy to read and use, and something I can review and make edits on my phone or monitor. By using Google Sheets, I can tame my type A personality since plans are created not just by me but also my loved ones.

Here are some things I like to plan out using Google Sheets:

Trip Menu
Packing List
Budget
Places to Visit on the Trip
Trip Itinerary

#2 Eat in

I know what you may be thinking, why would you cook on a trip? Shouldn’t you just rest, relax, and explore other restaurants? While the glamorous side of me would agree I like to be real with my budget and the people traveling with me. Growing up in an Asian household, rice was our bread. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, rice was always there, which meant it was ALWAYS there on our trips! Every trip I remember my family would bring our rice cooker and a bucket of rice so that we could eat fresh rice before we went out and come back to our room so that we could eat a fresh plate of rice. It’s our love language, our first good morning and good night.

Eating out can be super fun and create so many memories but unfortunately, the reality of eating out, especially with a large family, is that it’s expensive! Not only is it so much cheaper to eat in, but the memories created with your loved ones as you eat together at a different location, and eating foods you would normally eat at home creates a whole different memory and atmosphere. You can be yourself, eat as much as you want, be as loud as you want, actually hear the conversation around you, watch TV as you sit on the bed or couches, and most of all, you don’t have to wait in line for a table! The best part, you can sleep early so that you can get up early the next day to visit the attraction planned for that day.

Eating in creates a whole different type of memory of love, joy, and time together. To this day I still remember my Disney trip with my family. After a full day of walking, sightseeing, and excitement the only thing I truly remember that day was that night returning to our stay and cooking instant ramen! We ate together in the living room, watched TV, and made unnecessary comments about whatever we were watching. It’s a memory that’ll last a lifetime and I cherish the most.

Here are some easy dishes you can make ahead of time for your trip that are both tasty and won’t break your wallet! I like to freeze these before my trip, pack them in a cooler, and eat them throughout the trip.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Baked Chicken
Curry
Ham
Red Coconut Curry Noodle Soup (Khao Poon)

Ready to reach your BEST year yet? Check out my 2024 Digital/Printable EVERYTHING Planner and my 2024 Digital/Printable Self-Care Workbook curated to help you become your HIGHEST and most AUTHENTIC self so you can become the boss lady of your life and live the life YOU deserve-The Happy Life!

#3 Travel Essential- Duffel Bag

Since living in an apartment with my husband, I’m all about finding items that are budget-friendly, not bulky (to save space), and will hold both of our clothes in one bag. Below are some space-saving friendly bags that have reached all those expectations and have lasted me through every single trip I’ve made in the past years!

The first two bags are EXTREMELY helpful when living in a tiny space! Unlike the top bag, these two bags are foldable and can fold and zip on itself. Talk about space saving! These two bags can hold both me and my husband’s clothes though the black bag can store even more including my washbag! These two bags come in different sizes, and colors, and are super lightweight and affordable. I highly recommend these two bags here if you’re looking for something convenient, space-saving, and gets the job done!

The last bag is perfect for a weekend getaway and can fit both me and my husband’s clothes! It’s super sturdy, easy to flatten, minimalistic, and aesthetically pleasing! It’s my go-to bag for weekend trips to see family and friends!

#4 Plan Your Route

This is actually pretty new to me but it makes so much sense. Especially if you’re planning to sightsee along your way! I was introduced to this by my husband last year who I remember very clearly going on Google Maps to mark down not monuments or touristy places but gas stations and rest areas. Of course, I thought it was hilarious and too type A personality but I’ve never been more grateful to learn this skill! Of course, things didn’t go accordingly as planned but I would say a good 90% of our trip was on point with his planning! In doing so, we were able to visit a gas station not operated in NC and try their fresh food, snacks, and drinks which were amazing. We were also able to visit some pretty cool and nice rest areas that I never would’ve found if we didn’t plan our route.

So whenever you go on your next trip, try this out and see what places you can find that are new and exciting to you!

#5 Travel Essential-Washbag

As an avid traveler across NC, I’ve come to learn that one of the second most important things to have as your travel essentials is a bathroom bag. Ever since using this bathroom bag it’s so easy for me to just grab it and go whenever my husband and I are out for the weekend. This bag is super sturdy, aesthetically pleasing, and can hold so much stuff including a mini first aid kit, 2 toothbrushes, toothpaste, my skincare essentials, pads, a bottle of Tylenol, ibuprofen, allergy medicine, anti-antacids, and etc! I would recommend this bag to anyone looking for an affordable, sturdy, large store space, beautiful, and minimal bag!

Ready to reach your BEST year yet? Check out my 2024 Digital/Printable EVERYTHING Planner and my 2024 Digital/Printable Self-Care Workbook curated to help you become your HIGHEST and most AUTHENTIC self so you can become the boss lady of your life and live the life YOU deserve-The Happy Life!

Traveling is a whole other job in itself and requires so much planning and prepping so that you can get the most out of your time. It’s not cheap either! However, there are things that you can do to make the whole experience a memorable one. Remember, that in the end, no matter how stressful planning and prepping for a trip can be, it's the memories that count and how you spend those moments with your loved ones.

Ready to reach your BEST year yet? Check out my 2024 Digital/Printable EVERYTHING Planner and my 2024 Digital/Printable Self-Care Workbook curated to help you become your HIGHEST and most AUTHENTIC self so you can become the boss lady of your life and live the life YOU deserve-The Happy Life!