Are you making travel plans for the upcoming summer? In this recurring column, we’re sharing all kinds of tips to make your travel safer, easier and more fun.
Safety Tips You Might Not Know About
There’s nothing more important than staying safe when you travel. Here’s what I do. Yes, even when I travel domestically and yes, even when I stay at luxury hotels. I have a nephew who is a travel bug, and I’ve also bought these products for him. (Well, really for me, because I worry about him. He has gone to Colombia, Greece and Italy in the last six months.)
- Follow Cici.IntheSky. Cici is a flight attendant who gives a lot of quick, efficient, useful travel tips on instagram. I follow her religiously and some of these safety tips are from her.
- Get this bare minimum sweep of safety products: personal alarm, portable door lock, door alarm and a wireless travel router. Descriptions/use cases and links are below. Cici also travels with a portable security camera, propped on her bed to deter anyone from entering her hotel room. I don’t, but because she recommends it I thought I should let you know.
- Leave the Do Not Disturb sign on your door, and turn your television on in a normal volume when you leave the room so people think you’re in there.
- Don’t wear flashy clothes or jewelry. I have a lot of very stylish friends, many of whom I travel with, who don’t follow this advice so there’s that. But I’m still going to share it. Some of them work in glamorous fields where being chic is necessary for their profession. Also maybe they haven’t had a Cartier watch or Armani coat disappear, or they haven’t been mugged. Or followed down a hallway back to their room. I have. I don’t like to look rich when I travel as I think it makes me a target. I do like to look stylish, but when I balance that against wanting to feel safe I end up deciding (most often) to leave my nicest things home. I opt for understated, high-end attire and costume jewelry. And then I almost always have a large Hermes shawl to dress things up and one pair of stylish Manolo Blahniks (those can be worn with a dress or jeans).
- Don’t sit at the hotel bar solo and drink a lot of alcohol. Just don’t drink too much. This is obvious? You will be noticed. And you have to be aware to be safe.
5 Products for Hotel Safety
These products are recommended by Cici. (I now travel with all of them except the security camera Cici swears by.) Here is her amazon travel safety page with a comprehensive list of safety products.
Personal Handheld Alarm - Vantamo Keep this attached to the outside of your luggage; put it in your hand before entering the elevator to go up to your room.
Portable Door Lock Put this on your door when you’re in the room.
Portable Door Alarm/Stopper The reason you need this in addition to the door lock is that it’s hard to find a portable door lock that works on every hotel door. Also, this has the alarm feature, so you’re notified (for instance if you’re asleep).
NB: You’ll need this 9V battery for the doorstop, so maybe go ahead and buy it when you order the doorstop. I bought this for my nephew before he went to Greece, but without the battery (so it was useless). Also, take the battery out of the doorstop and wrap the battery up in kleenex to get through security (a lesson I learned on my recent trip to New Zealand).
A Wireless Travel Router It’s not safe to use public WiFi’s in airports or your hotel wifi. Those are the wifi networks targeted by hackers. Here is an article on the best travel routers for 2024. I use this TP -Link Travel Router because it is under $40 and light and has all the power that I need, but if I were traveling as a family I would buy the more expensive Netgear Nighthawk because it accommodates more internet users at fast speeds. (A VPN is also advisable (which I have), but at least have a personal router.)
A Wireless Security Camera. It notifies you if there is any motion detected in your room. Note that if your hotel has a landing page, you will not be able to connect the security camera to the hotel’s wifi, so you’ll need to connect through your travel router.
A Note on Flight Thefts.
Having just returned from a long flight, I found this PSA about thefts on flights relevant and eye-opening. I’ve never had anything stolen from me on a flight, so I don’t want to overreact but this is not something that was on my radar in any significant way. I usually carry my passport, driver’s license, credit cards and cell phone in a discrete, low-key black waist travel pouch that I keep on me during flights. I’ve had mine for years so I can’t find a link to it, but it is similar to this one from Pacsafe. It is not a chic designer pouch. That’s purposeful! My goal when I travel is to not look rich & glitzy! To not call attention to myself. To look sharp, understated and kinda stylish and cool but definitely not rich.
Also, I wear my waist travel pack under a loose, zippable leisure (meaning sweatshirt-like) tunic — like the AirEssentials Full Zip Tunic. The reason I got that tunic in particular is that you can unzip it from the bottom up (as well as from the top down), giving a little more room if you need it for the waist pack.
I am a freak about safety when I travel. I have been mugged and I have had valuables (a Cartier watch, an Armani blazer) stolen (from my hotel room — in a well-regarded, upscale hotel). I have had valuables stolen from checked bags (golf clubs, a designer purse, an Hermes scarf, etc.). I love to travel and have adopted an obsessively considered approach to it around safety and convenience that includes packing light, not checking luggage, not bringing valuables and a low-key look that is, I hope, sharp and upscale.
Practical Tips. Dish’s Favorite Hotel Hack
Even though I try really, really hard I am forever leaving small but vital items behind in hotel rooms. My favorite practical travel advice expert is Cici.IntheSky. She is a no-nonsense midlife flight attendant who says she’s flown around the globe 9x already this year. She has posted (and reposted) this travel hack tip a couple of times, and boy-oh-boy, it works! I am now a recovering airhead thanks to Cici.
Put One Hand Towel Out in the Bathroom for All Your Toiletries
Put Another Towel Out on the Desk for All Your Tech Gadgets
According to Cici @cici.inthesky here’s why this works:
Using a towel as a landing pad for important is a practical strategy grounded in principles of organization and visual cues. It reduces chaos and increases predictability, and it’s useful for people (like me) who are prone to misplacing and losing track of my things.
Visual Cues: The towel acts as a visual anchor. Creating a strong visual that makes it easier to notice if something is missing.
Routine and Habit Formation: Creating a consistent routine helps form habits. Habitual behavior reduces cognitive load, making it easier to remember important tasks
Reduced Cognitive Overload: Traveling can be overwhelming due to the numerous decisions and tasks involved. By using a landing pad, you simplify the packing process and reduce the cognitive demands associated with tracking multiple items.
The ’defined towel‘ strategy is particularly helpful for neuro-divergent travelers, such as those with ADHD or who are prone to distractibility. But really, having a designated spot is more efficient and reduces overlooked items for everybody.
A Comfortable, Smart Looking Ensemble for Long Flight Travel
I take an annual trip to New Zealand for golf. Here were my flight essentials for the 17(ish) hour long flights.
SPANX Air Essentials
The direct flight on Air New Zealand between JFK and Auckland is a 17 hour flight, so comfort is obviously the priority. As I have written before, my standard ”flight uniform” includes the Citizens of Humanity Emerson Mid Rise Relaxed 27” in their darkest shade, Blue Ridge. CoH has cooler, more ”now” cuts but this more tailored, classic slim/straight leg is so incredibly versatile when you arrive, because it works with heels as well as sneakers and the slightly relaxed fit and pockets are great for the plane.
But a 17 hour flight? That demands leisure wear. A stylish friend who was staying with me last year showed me her Air Essentials Wide Leg Pant and I couldn’t believe how soft, comfortable and good looking they were. The Air Essentials line is not the SPANX products that might come to mind if you’re thinking SPANX circa five+ years ago. When I was planning out my travel wardrobe for this trip I thought I’d get a pair of the wide leg pants but when I went to the website I saw that they had expanded their Air Essentials line. I ended up getting the Air Essentials Luxe Tapered Pant in black. They felt great for the long (long) flight. I also appreciate that they have a subtle straight pleat down the center leg (barely noticeable in the right side photo above) that looks very sharp. I got the Air Essentials Luxe Full-Zip Tunic. I like that it has pockets — handy for holding your cell phone, boarding pass and passport while you wait to board your flight, etc., —and the full zip offers the possibility to zip up from the bottom as well as zip down from the top.
This line is nuts; it’s so good. There are a number of pant and top offerings, an array of neutral (travel-friendly) colors and the pants come in various length options. It’s less expensive than comparable Frank & Eileen comfort wear (that line has become too expensive for what it is, IMHO) and it’s much sharper Looking. Check it out — it’s a winner.
PS: I’m not surprising any longtime CRUSH Readers by pointing out that I wore the whisper thin long sleeve Uniqlo Heat-tech T-Shirt in black under this. I then slept in the t-shirt (with the leggings) and wore it home. (There were a few hotel sink washings, too.)
UNIQLO Pufftech Compact Jacket
I have this UNIQLO pufftech compact jacket in both the black and cream colors. I wear it more fitted than the model above. I brought the cream for this trip. When you zip the Air Essentials Luxe Full-Zip Tunic (in black) all the way up it creates a black “column look” with the Luxe pant on the bottom, and the pufftech jacket worn open. I liked the look. This jacket packs up so small. Cream and black are a classic pairing and not too wintry - the cream really lightens up the whole look. The jacket is the perfect weight for weather in the 70s in New Zealand. The black one works so well for urban travel. In the winter I often wear the black one under a cashmere coat and sometimes keep it on when the outer layer comes off. It’s super versatile. I usually travel with one beautiful scarf and because this jacket has a jewel neck it works well with a scarf — for color and to make the look more upcales. I’ve had mine for over five years and have traveled with it to London, Stockholm, Spain, Milan, New Zealand, Paris, New York. It’s gone out to dinner, hiking and to museums. Love it.
These Retro-looking New Balance Black 327’s
I like these classic, tried and true” all-American sneakers in black/cream with the SPANX Air Essentials ensemble. They “track” with my theme of trying to look sharp and pulled-together but not rich. I have owned a pair of Loubisharks that I got in Paris many years ago and I love them — absolutely love them and have worn them walking all over New York — I don’t bring them (or any other flashy sneakers) for travel. I am so freakin’ disciplined about not looking “rich, rich.”
The Crush Letter
The Crush Letter is a weekly newsletter from Dish Stanley curating articles & intelligence on everything love & connection - friendship, romance, self-love, sex. If you’d like to take a look at some of our best stories go to Read Us. Want the Dish?
