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Traveling is stressful for everyone, even travel writers

Various travel gear items laid out on a yellow background.
Michael Hession/NYT Wirecutter
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By Maria Adelmann

Maria is a writer covering travel. She once left on a six-week trip and didn’t come back for three years.

I’ve spent months on a ship, a week straight on a train, and many nights on buses. But, I’ll admit it, traveling this week (the busiest of the year!) still kind of stresses me out. My strategy—and my advice to you—extends from my travel day straight through Thanksgiving dinner: Plan ahead, be patient, and cultivate a Zen-like acceptance of what you can’t control.

It’s an approach improved by a few low-cost day-savers that are useful both en route and at your destination. Because, sure, you probably already have your beloved travel pillow, a trusty suitcase, and your boarding pass—but it’s often the smaller stuff that can go the furthest in helping you keep cool. Here are a few things I bring with me on every trip:

  • A pair of foam earplugs is a portal to blissful silence. They’re ideal for a mid-trip nap, yes, but also for holing up with a good book on your grandma’s couch as a horde of toddlers scream at your feet (or, you know, whatever your Thanksgiving is like).
  • Relegated to sleeping on the couch at the big family gathering? An inexpensive eye mask, like this breathable, silky, and adjustable Wirecutter fave, offers the priceless experience of snoozing past daybreak. Plus, it’s great for naps in planes, trains, and passenger seats.
  • Pocket-sized memo books make excellent analog, on-the-road catch-alls for holiday to-do lists, travel games, genius ideas, or dramatic travelogues of your flight delays.
  • And one (on-sale!) splurge for the overachievers: A small power bank, like this fast-charging Wirecutter pick, comes in clutch on long travel days. It’s also handy at family gatherings when you need your phone camera on standby or just can’t bear to part with your dying comfort device.

A few more travel tips: I like to bring along a book I’ve already started, so I’m hooked before I hit the road. I also pack my phone with pre-downloaded podcasts so I can listen even when Wi-Fi is spotty. And my backpack is always full of snacks. They’re good for morale, plus who wants to spend $5 on airport M&Ms? Good luck out there.

Our ultimate guide to the very best travel gear→

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More for your journey

Two images: the image on the left is the Panasonic Nanoe Compact Quick-Dry Hair Dryer being held on display in front of a purple background. The Image on the right is of a person modeling their hair to demonstrate the results of the Panasonic Nanoe Compact Quick-Dry Hair Dryer

Hotel hair dryers are notoriously bad. This travel one is better.

This foldable dryer weighs under a pound and is surprisingly quiet→

The writer of this guide wearing motion sickness glasses in the passenger seat of a car, next to a photo of a hand holding up a pair of motion sickness glasses.

Do these ridiculous glasses cure motion sickness?

We bought four pairs of motion-sickness glasses and tried to get some people carsick→

The Hotor car garbage can in the backseat of a car.

8 things we always keep in our cars

Help make big road trips run a little smoother→

Collage with three product images from our picks for traveling with food allergies

“I have a severe food allergy. Here’s what I pack when I fly.”

For starters, bring your own spork→

Plus: This app claims to help you beat jet lag. We tried it.

A photo collage of two photos side-by-side: (left) a person wearing a sleep mask on a flight and (right) a person's hand holding a phone displaying a page of The Jet Lag App.
Photo illustration by Ezra Lee/NYT Wirecutter; source photos by Hannah Rimm/NYT Wirecutter, iStock

If you find yourself dealing with the droopy-eyed, nausea-inducing side effects of jet lag long after you’ve landed, we get it—it’s awful. This app promises to make all that a thing of the past by using your daily routine and travel details to create an individualized jet lag-banishing plan. The idea is that by slowly adjusting your habits before your trip, you’ll arrive at your destination good as new.

But does it work? We asked nine testers to use the app on trips of varying lengths and destinations. Over the course of several months, they packed their bags and flew all over the world. They found it easy to use, and were a little less sleepy, but …

It might not work for everyone. Here’s why→

One last thing (from Maria): A toy-like instant camera we love

The budget pick Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 instant camera.
Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter

As you head into memory-making season: Don’t forget to pack a camera you love. For Maria, it’s this (highly giftable!) instant camera that takes nostalgia-inducing photos. “This instant camera is my antidote to digital picture malaise,” she writes. “Every print has the gravitas of a moment deemed worthy of a shot.”

Uncomplicated joy→

Thanks for reading.

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