Staying Comfortable When Travelling. What Do You Do?

I was sent a question recently asking “how do you stay comfortable while you do what you do best… exploring new places?

I was posed the question recently asking “how do you stay comfortable while you do what you do best… exploring new places?”. I was not sure how to answer the question at first, but it did get me thinking about the things I take and do on every trip that have become (for me) ways to stay and feel comfortable (and settled) wherever I am visiting. I realized there were at least five of them, and here they are

  1. Rooms with no interconnecting door! This one drives my partner crazy when travelling with them, as they think I am too sensitive to it! I am obsessed with noise, and despise rooms which are connected to the one next door. I have had a few bad experiences over the years of travelling with rowdy guests, parties and even a rather deaf traveller that had the TV on highest volume. As every little noise seeping through that door gets me stressed, I always request a room with no connecting door on my booking and ask when checking in.
  2. Eye Shades and Ear Plugs. These will come as no surprise after the one above! I find I sleep best when it is dark and there are no unfamiliar noises to attract my attention when settling down for the evening. I used to go around covering up the standby lights on the TV, any light from the bedside clocks and the like. I find I am most comfortable and sleep best when I have the dark and quiet that eye shades and silicone ear plugs bring me.
  3. Pillow. I do not do this very often, but I like it if I have my pillow from home to sleep on. I am not bothered by the bed provided, but find I am sleep better if I have my own familiar pillow. If I am taking check-in bags and have room I throw it in. When I travelled most weeks for work I did it quite often as I was checking in bags and had space.
  4. Bluetooth Speaker. I love music and as I am away from home so much I like to be able to listen to my favourite music. I take a small Beats bluetooth speaker with me so I can play music in my room. It makes the environment feel more familiar and comfortable. I always take it with me – even if just travelling with hand baggage.
  5. Room Relaxing Gear. This comes from the twenty or so years I was doing travel for work and wearing suits most of the time. I always pack kick back and relax gear. If I am on a long haul flight with an airline that gives those baggy sleeping suits I may rely on those. But usually take my own stuff so that once in my room I have something like baggy track pants or shorts and loose t-shirt to pull on – and also flip flops to pad around in. When on a press trip or business trip there is usually so little down time and these are part of my routine to relax and feel comfortable in my temporary space. The flip flops are a real plus for hotels with hard trendy wooden floors…..!

How do you stay comfortable when travelling? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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Gary Bembridge

I grew up in Zimbabwe, but I have been based in London since 1987. My travel life spans more than three decades and that includes more than 95 cruises. In 2005, I launched Tips for Travellers to make it easy and fun for people to discover, plan and enjoy incredible cruise vacations. And the rest, as they say, is history. I have the largest cruise vlogger channel currently on YouTube, with more than 3 million video views per month.

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2 Responses

  1. Susan Nettesheim says:

    The first thing I do in every hotel is pick up all the magazines, books and pieces of paper advertising things for the hotel and throw them either in a drawer in the closet. I also bring a small scented candle with me – even unlit, it helps give the room a nice fragrance. If I’m staying somewhere more than two days I usually buy some fresh flowers as well. And I agree with Gary about having a comfy outfit to hang out in!

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