Expats in Costa Rica: 5 Crucial Travel Hacks

Remember when air travel was fun?  Before you had to get a colonoscopy to just go to your gate, and peanuts were free?

Or when gas was so cheap, you and your best friend could make a last-minute road trip for Cinco de Mayo?

Yeah, those days are gone.

Now, if you want to travel, but aren't independently wealthy enough to own a private jet, yacht, or Magic Bus, there will be Inconvenience.

Disruption.  Difficulties.  Disturbance.

And Butt-Numbing Delays.

Gas is expensive and Siri gets disoriented.  Airlines find more ways to nickel-and-dime you.  Luggage gets lost.  People get lost!  All of these things and more have happened to us, because that's just the way it is.  

We've figured out a few things to make the whole process easier by learning the hard way, so you won't have to.

Tienen un buen viaje!

5.  Rolling really works better than folding.  

I refuse to pay for checked luggage. I'll do origami on my clothes if I have to.

4.  Bathing Suits Can Double As Underwear.

Yes, really.

Keep a change with you if you're checking bags.  Better to have it and not need it than the other way around.

3. Before your dirty laundry reaches critical mass, separate it to keep it from contaminating your clean clothes.

It only takes one gross pair of socks to make everything else reek.

2.  Once you have more dirty than clean laundry, switch, and put the fresh stuff in the bag.  

Turn the bag inside out if it's really nasty.  Then tuck those tiny hotel soap bars into the dirty stuff.  It'll Dial down the stank by a factor of two.  (I know, I know.  Sorry!)

If you look closely, you can see the middle bar says HOTEL.

1.  Most importantly, take care of your body defensively!

That means:

Prepare, get, and hoard snacks.

Refill your water bottle / thermos / flask.

Go pee-pee every chance you get…

…Because you really don't know when your next opportunity will be.

This is imperative.  

Doubly so if traveling by bus.

What are your favorite travel tips?  Let us know in the comment section!

Happy Trails and Pura Vida!