Decades of Travel Wisdom/TripIt App/Carry-on Limits
Nomadico issue #145
50+ Years of Travel Wisdom
Welcome to the many new subscribers after Nomadico co-founder Kevin Kelly mentioned us at the end of this collection of tips gleaned from 50+ years of travel. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite, but here’s a sample: “In 53 years of traveling with all kinds of people, I’ve seen absolutely no correlation between where you eat and whether you have intestinal problems, so to maximize the enjoyment of local foods, my rule of thumb is to eat wherever healthy-looking locals eat.” (And hey, he was a backpacker in the 1970s!)
Travel Plans in One Place
Someone asked me recently which travel apps would be a nightmare to give up on my phone and I had two: Google Maps and TripIt. Uses for the first are obvious, but TripIt is my second brain when I’m on the move, with transportation tickets, lodging reservations, and advance museum ticket times all saved in one place. As soon as the confirmation hits my e-mail box, it gets automatically forwarded to the app so I don’t have to do anything. I’ve been on the free plan for 12 years, but if you pay $49 a year for Pro you get some extra perks like alerts when a better seat opens up or when the flight price drops.
A Complete Guide to Carry-on Luggage Restrictions
While we’ve now standardized our travel tech around Bluetooth and USB-C, the airlines have gone the other way with luggage and splintered off in multiple directions. Not only are the fees a convoluted mess, but so are the answers to the simple question, “How big can my carry-on bag be?” In the USA you’re usually safe with 45 linear inches (22 X 14 X 9) but some allow a tad more. For European or Asian that could be too large though and you’ll also have to check it or pay extra if it weighs too much. EasyJet only allows the equivalent of 100 linear centimeters (39.6 linear inches) and for Air China your carry-on can only weigh 5 kilograms (11 pounds). Afar has done the research and published the most comprehensive rundown I’ve ever seen.
Is It Less Safe to Fly Now?
I’ve always been that guy pulling out stats to show how safe flying is compared to getting in a car, but since the administration change in the USA on January 20, I’m feeling a lot less confident. After 16 years with no deadly commercial airline crashes in the USA, we’ve had a whole series of them in just a few weeks, including 67 people dead in D.C. and 10 in Alaska. Those tragedies would inspire most leaders to increase the safety budget and manpower, but instead we’re seeing headlines like "Hundreds of FAA employees fired by Trump administration weeks after midair DC collision." Full article here.
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A tip to add to the list: “Avoid traveling in third-world countries during field-burning season.”
I traveled to northern Myanmar at the peak of field-burning season and the pall of smoke over the countryside was unbearable…sore eyes, sore throat. Like walking around in choking smog. Really terrible, especially for those with allergies or asthma.