The Best Travel Hacks of 2019

Best of LifehackerBest of LifehackerWhether we’ve made a complicated recipe absurdly simple, illustrated how to survive a natural disaster, or explained a political crisis in terms even your great-grandma would understand, these are some of our favorite stories from the past year.

If ever there was a need for travel hacks, it was in 2019—the year of Boeing 737 MAX groundings, mysterious illnesses afflicting tourists, and airlines offering even less legroom by way of basic economy seating. And since this holiday week is likely to become the busiest travel week in 2019, it’s about time someone cuts you some slack. Below, you’ll find a few of our favorite and much-needed travel hacks, tips, and upgrades of the year, including how to get through an annoyingly long customs line, why packing cubes changed one Lifehacker staffer’s life, and the case for never offering to swap your seat on a flight.

How do you know if it’s worth it to spring for an expedited security screening service? Let’s run through your options and what it’ll cost you to keep your shoes on.

Photo: Sattish Bate/Hindustan Times via Getty Images (Getty Images)

Ordering a ‘something and soda’ is always a safe route, particularly if you can pick the brand of your spirit, but the most airport friendly drink, in my not excessively humble opinion, is the kalimotxo.

For all the people-pleasers out there, we’re here to tell you: You do not have to agree to change seats when asked. Seating assignments are first-come, first-serve (or in many cases, something you’ve paid a premium for) which means getting the seat you want is each passenger’s own responsibility.

Let your passive aggression out by forcing the passenger in front of you to endure the wrath of your freezing-cold airplane air until they relent.

If you’re a T-Mobile subscriber, great! Enjoy your hour and skip forward to the next section when it runs out. If you’re on another carrier, however, you’re going to have to get a little tricky.

It’s rare in this world to have several hours to yourself, with nobody expecting you to be connected to the internet and an almost-comfortable chair to lounge in.

Photo: Mike Petrucci (Unsplash)

On a recent Amtrak trip, I arrived early, boarded as quickly as possible, and yet, wound up without a seat. I had purchased a ‘reserved seat’ ticket, and when I asked the conductor about this, he told me that everyone on the train had a ‘reserved seat’ ticket.

The truth is, packing cubes don’t save space in a direct, physical way; everything still takes up the same amount of space it otherwise would. Instead, they let you pack the same amount of stuff, while having it behave like less.

So simple! No bad conversion rates! Easily use up everything at the last possible minute!

It’s all fine and good to spend one’s time wandering the stalls of artisanal food halls, but did Torvehallerne—which I never managed to pronounce correctly—have Smash, the sweet and salty snack that is essentially a bag of Bugles dipped in creamy milk chocolate? It did not. I found those treasures at a gas station, and I just had a few with my coffee.

But most of the time, I needed just one word to feel less like an ugly American. I needed to say I’m sorry. Which is more complicated than it sounds.

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