At home, you often have nearly unlimited access to the internet and all the wonders that we can stream at will. Everything from the latest news, music, movies, books and more is accessible without a second thought. However, once you board a plane or cruise ship and leave the connectivity of your home or mobile internet you lose a lot of access.

In the past, I have shared around the topic of costs associated with accessing internet on a cruise ship. But when it comes to internet in the skies, the access and cost can vary widely, depending on the airline and country you are flying in. So if you want to save your pennies and ensure an uninterrupted audio experience when travelling you might want to consider the following tips.

1. Download Music

Music has for some time been moving away from buying individual tracks to streaming across the internet. It works great when you are at home or even around town, but when you lose that phone signal the music stops. But not to worry, as most services provide an option to download and listen offline. I have linked to the guide on how to do this for some of the popular platforms. However, just if your service is not listed look for information about offline listening.

Apple Music | Spotify | Soundcloud

It is a good idea to take a few minutes to check this well in advance of going away. The time to download can be significant depending on how big your playlist might be. So you don’t want to be waiting on the download to happen when you are supposed to be heading to the airport.

2. Download Audiobooks

Audiobooks, like music, can be something that you will want to plan in advance and not at the last minute before heading to the airport. The size of the download will depend on a couple of factors.

Firstly the length of the audiobook and secondly the quality of the audio recording. While both factors can play a part in the size of the download, only the audio quality might be something you can change. But that will depend on the service where you purchase your audiobooks.

If you are buying from Audible you will find they are available in two quality options, standard or high quality. The high-quality audio works out to average 28.8 MB per hour and the standard is around half of that. So if you are downloading an audiobook that is eight hours long your download will likely be between 115 MB and 230 MB. That does not seem like a lot but it can sometimes take longer than expected to download. If you are not already using Audible you can get there with the banner below. It is an affiliate link and if you sign up for the service I will receive a small commission.

3. Download Podcasts

Podcasts are another great option for listening when travelling. Podcasts can be a great option to binge listen to while you are travelling. Especially if you are cruising or know you have a lot of hours in the air getting to your destination.

You need to make sure that you are downloading episodes to your device. Just because you subscribe to a podcast does not mean that all the episodes will automatically download. Often it is just the latest episode that will download, but you do have the option to download any of the back episodes.

Many podcasts have been running for quite some time and have a lot of back episodes. So unless you are keeping up with episodes you may have ample episodes to choose from and listen to. On my last cruise, I knew I would be spending some time walking on the decks each day. As a result, I took some time and downloaded around 24 hours of podcast episodes. Over the period of 10 days on the cruise I did not even need half of the episodes, but it was handy to have them available.

Be Prepared

So hopefully these few thoughts have been able to help you be a little more prepared for your next time travelling. It can definitely help to save a little of the boredom that a long haul flight can bring. But can also help if you are looking for something to fill in a little time between activities on a cruise. But if you don’t plan ahead you will be limited to a much smaller range of what happens to be on your device.

One thing that I have come to know about travel is that it can be very much a timing thing. Sometimes that is going to be getting the timing right for yourself on a personal level. At other things that might be getting the timing right for when you want to visit a particular destination. Of course, on both sides, there can be anomalies, but below I have a few things that you might like to think about in regards to timing.

The Right Time For You

In some ways, this is the much more difficult part for me to give you any advice on. The fact is that for almost everyone there is a very large number of factors that can make up a decision to travel. You may have existing commitments, such as family, friends or work that might play a part. There can also be a financial consideration that you need to make in both paying for the travel and supporting yourself while travelling.

So it very much comes down to asking yourself one very important question.

“Is travel your priority or a priority you would like to persue?”

The answer to this question can very much determine in some ways if you should be focusing on travel at the moment. If you feel that you want to make travel a priority you can overcome almost anything to do so. It just can come down to how you look at the commitments or considerations that might be standing in the way. By no means should you just ignore them but you can look at ways to work around them or reframe them. However, those likely are not something I can help with as part of a short blog post.

The Right Time For Your Destination

There might be personal timing issues you can face and may not have a definite answer. On the other hand, there are timing aspects of your destination that are considerably more definite. Included can be if attractions are open, what the weather at a particular time of year is or if tours are available. All of these can play a part in whether it is worth considering a visit to a particular destination.

Attractions

Depending on the country that you might be visiting the attractions that are available to visit may vary. While many countries do tend to offer year-round attractions, other areas you will find some attractions close down for part of the year.

You might find that this is one very important consideration when making your booking to visit a destination. The last thing that you want to do is arrive somewhere and find that one place that you were going for closed for the season. I experienced this sort of problem in parts of England and also the city of Vienna when I visited.

In England, I visited a number of English Heritage sites around the south of England. I found that a number of sites that I would have like to visit had already closed for the winter months. While disappointing a little forward planning and research would have better allowed me to organise other options. Likewise in Vienna, I visited the city towards the very end of the winter months. Tours that operate through summer only were not yet underway.

Weather

Depending on the time of year that you might be going to visit a city the potential weather can be a factor. Of course, there are times that you will not be able to predict this in the future. But there are also times that you can narrow down your timing based on how you might expect the weather to be.

An example of this might be if you are looking to go skiing you would not visit Vancouver in June. Likewise, if you don’t particularly like the cooler weather you would probably not visit New Zealand in July. So if you have a particular preference for weather or temperature that can be something worth researching in advance.

Travel Availability

There are some instances where the method you would like to travel by might not be available when you want to travel. One of the best examples of this would be if you like to cruise. Cruise ships will often only spend a part of the year cruising in any one location. A great example of this is cruising to Alaska which generally is only available between April and September. These are the best months to cruise, even though sometimes the weather is not entirely favourable. Likewise, cruises are available year-round from Australia, but the majority of ships operate through the summer months. With just a small number still cruising through winter.

When Might Be Better?

One of the easiest options when it comes to choosing the right time to travel is to search Google. A simple search for “When is the best time to visit X” will often give some good advice. That is with X being your destination that you would like to visit. Some destinations may be good all year round, but others may have a specific window of time that is best to visit.

As for a personal time that is better that could be something you need to consider looking at in your own circumstances. Is now the time you have a travel? Could a point in the future be better? In most cases, I suspect you will enjoy the trip, but just don’t put something else in jeopardy for a moment’s pleasures.

The first time that you are travelling overseas can be an exciting and daunting experience. If trying to decide exactly what you need to pack for a short 10-day getaway is not enough. There is also the challenge of just what to expect at the airport combined with trying to ensure you get your carry on packed right.

The process can seem somewhat daunting especially on your first time at the airport. But the reality is that once you arrive at the airport the scary bit is over a lot quicker than you think. You will like spending more time waiting to board the plane than you will spend passing through security and customs. There can be a few things that might make the process a little easier, as they say, knowledge is power.

Before Heading To The Airport

There are some things that you will find easiest to complete at home before heading to the airport. The most important aspect to ensure you complete before leaving home is getting your packing right. Having the correct items pack in the correct luggage and ensuring that you do not have anything you should not carry in your carry on.

When it comes to packing your carry on the official government websites are the best source of accurate information. While I could attempt to summarise the information here, the last thing I want to do is confuse you. So here are the websites for both the Australian and the United States of America, but if you are travelling from another country they will have a similar website.

• Australia TravelSECURE website
• United States TSA website

For a big portion of the items listed, it is common sense. But there are a few items in there that you might question why they are included. Unfortunately, though it is not for us to question why, but to follow the rule as it is laid out. The one main consideration is to ensure you have up to date and accurate paperwork for medical conditions. Especially those where you may need to carry needles, such as insulin-dependent diabetics. It is something simple, but easy enough to forget.

The final thing I suggest remembering before leaving home is to know where you have put your passport and travel documents. While I have never needed a printed copy of my flight information it can be handy to carry this information with you.

Arriving At The Airport

Travelling internationally can be considerably different to domestic air travel. While you may find it works out fine to push the boundaries with a local flight, international can be quite different. It is not uncommon to find the recommended time to arrive at the airport up to three hours before your flight time. Many people think of this as a little excessive but I personally see it as a minimum, for a couple of reasons.

1. Consider if you plan to arrive three hours before your flight. However, on the way to the airport run into bad traffic that delays you for 45 minutes. You should still arrive with ample time at the airport. If you had planned to arrive on a tighter schedule to the airport, you easily could have missed the check-in time for your flight with such a delay.
2. While it is nice to think you are the only one to consider there can be anything up to 400 over passengers on the flight. Not to mention the passengers that may also be arriving for other flights. Everything takes time from check-in to security screening and customs. Plus there is time to get to the gate and ensure everyone boards in an orderly fashion.

So look to give yourself sufficient time at the airport. If everyone does this we all travel happier.

Check-In

The very first thing that I do when I arrive at the airport is to check-in for the flight. The last thing I enjoy doing is standing in the check-in line, watching the time to see if I am going to make it on the flight or not. In some cases, they will ask for people on a certain flight and bring them forward if the time is getting close. But I have only seen this happen in some cases, not at all airports.

The main consideration here is that you will likely be no just queuing with people from your flight, but a couple of others as well. With some planes now carrying 400+ passengers, at some airports, this could end up being 1,000+ passengers trying to check-in. The key to remember is that if you are early for your check-in you may not have to head immediately to security. So get checked in and then check your timing for getting to security.

Heading To The Boarding Area

While you might be familiar with the security check at a domestic airport, the process is slightly different for international. You will still pass through a security check, which is a little more stringent, as well as through immigration.

Security Check

The security check has become a common and essential part of the process of travelling on an aircraft. I have just two pieces of advice for you when it comes to the security check process.

1. Read the website I linked above or the equivalent for the country you are travelling from. If you don’t carry the wrong things with you, there are much fewer problems.
2. Have a read of my other post about preparing for the security check. You can find it here “Travel Security Check Without Losing Anything.” It can be a great idea to help you avoid losing anything in the process of passing through security. The idea is to minimise the number of things you put down and need to pick up.

One other point that I will make is that every security check can be different. There are many different factors that can play into this. Starting with the country or state that you are in, there could be minor variations. There is also the factor of the individual security guard and/or specific crackdowns at any particular time. So the key is to prepare as best you can and remember arguing with airport security rarely works out well for you.

Immigration

At the international airport, immigration often immediately follows the security check. At least, this is what I have experienced in the majority of international airports I have passed through. There are some airports where either security or immigration is centralised, while the other is on a per gate basis. But these are more often abnormalities or in much smaller airports.

The immigration process is not all that easy to describe and just like security can have some varying factors. The process is generally rather quick and painless, with just a couple of questions and a look at your boarding pass and passport. Which reminds me that is one thing you want to know where it is before you enter security, your passport.

Duty-Free?

Once you are through security and immigration it will very much depend on which airport you are at. But for me in Brisbane Airport it is directly into the Duty-Free shop. Personally, I see little point to even break my stride passing through the duty-free. The reality is that duty-free shopping is nothing like it once was. With the sales that you see in normal stores these days, you might get a much better price buying before heading to the airport. Plus you can still get a refund on the tax paid if you meet the requirements of the Tourist Refund Scheme. But if you plan to use the Tourist Refund Scheme make sure you read what you must do beforehand.

Waiting To Board

Potentially the most exciting and most boring part of the process can be waiting to board the aircraft. Depending on how smoothly and quickly the security and immigration process has been you could be waiting a little while. I can say one thing though I would prefer to be sitting there waiting to board for an hour, instead of watching the time standing in line hoping I make it.

Enjoy The Holiday

The only thing left to do now is to enjoy the holiday. I do wish that I could be more precise about the exact steps in some of the points above, but that is rather difficult. You see some aspects will change at every airport, will depend on the people fulfilling that function in the airport on that day and they could change at any time. Just approach heading to the airport with an open mind, accept that you might have to wait in a lineup or two and look forward to the other end of the flight.

Packing your bag for travel can be something of a challenge at times. Trying to get everything that you think you will need in and still get the suitcase done up. There is a way that you can solve a little of this challenge by considering what you wear on travel days. By this I mean the days that you are going to be transiting between cities, most often when you are flying.

To date through my travels, what you are wearing has never come into the equation of how much luggage you have. So it can make a lot of sense to consider just what you are going to wear on the plane.

What You Are Wearing

Some of the specific items that can make a big difference are shoes, pants and jackets. These can be items that you may take more than one of or that are bulky or heavy.

Shoes

When it comes to what you put on your feet, I would suggest the checking your shoes. You want to be wearing whichever pair of shoes you are taking that are either the heaviest or takes up the most space. The difference between your lightest and heaviest shoes can be a reasonable difference. Especially if you are conerned that you might be getting close to the weight limit on your suitcase.

There are two considerations here though. First I am talking about the heaviest pair of practical shoes to wear. Ski boots or football cleats might not be the best choice try and choose general wearable shoes or boots. The second thing is to think deeply as to whether you do need to take them if they are that heavy in the luggage. If you are taking them with plans to use them once or twice, could you reconsider and leave them at home?

A little side note when it comes to shoes is don’t waste the space inside them. The first time I travelled I stuck them in a bag and forgot about them. It was partway through the trip I figured out I could stuff small items or pairs of socks inside them.

Pants

What you wear on the bottom half of your body can make a little difference as well. On travel days I almost always wear my jeans. For two reasons, the first is that I find it can get a little cooler on planes than you might expect. The second reason is they are often the bulkiest and heaviest clothing item I am taking.

The difference between a pair of jeans and a pair of shorts might not be as great as shoes, but it still adds up. As long as you have a somewhat comfortable pair of jeans, this can work. If they are too tight or not comfortable for sitting in, you may have to still opt for packing them.

Jackets

There have been very few times that I have not carried my bulkiest jacket on the plane with me. Even if it is the middle of summer and hot outside, it is always in my hand with my carry on bag. To my recollection, no one has ever questioned it, for two reasons.

The first is that it can get a little cool on the plane sometimes so it can be good for that. The second you might be leaving a summer climate, but your destination may be a winter climate. But even if your next stop is not a winter destination your final one might be, and you may not have access to your luggage along the way.

I remember one segment of one trip I had three jackets in hand for a couple of legs of my trip. Partially because I was travelling to a cold climate, but also due to the next point.

Travelling With A Suit

I have had to travel a couple of times with a suit now, as I chose to take one when I cruise. The problem is travelling with one suitcase it can be awfully difficult to keep the jacket looking good. While often there is time to arrange for it to be pressed, I prefer to avoid that if I can. So I often wear my suit jacket onboard the flight. While it might get a little creased, it is rarely anywhere near as bad as if it had been folded into the suitcase.

Consider What You Wear

I have just given you a couple of areas to think about what you wear when you travel. But of course, there is any number of other things you could consider wearing instead of packing when you travel. It can just come down to being smart and maybe ever so slightly not as comfortable.