Kyle’s Travel Tips

Throughout my trips, I’ve narrowed in on the things I do to make my travel most enjoyable!

Maintain a packing list

Counterintuitively, the more travel I do, the more anxious I get about packing. To counter this, I keep and update a packing list that I can check before leaving the house to feel confident that I’m not missing anything critical.

Here’s a copy :).

Use anchor activities

I like to have structure to my trips and schedule things in advance. The anticipation leading up to a trip is often just as enjoyable as the trip itself. The risk is that you over-plan and don’t have enough flexibility.

I counter this with Anchor Activities. Each day has one pre-planned activity. Since we know that we have a specific time and location, we can plan activities around that or just have down time.

Go with the flow

Expect the unexpected, and welcome it.

Flights get canceled. You might end up dragging luggage across a frozen ski town. Or booking a spontaneous hotel in Munich and making new friends over late-night beers. Those “off-script” moments are often the ones you remember most. Laugh when it goes sideways—it’s part of the adventure.

Pack a personal ritual

Whether it’s playing cards at camp, birdwatching with a parent, or journaling in the morning, having a small ritual gives you grounding on the go. Travel can be chaotic; your ritual is the familiar beat in new surroundings.

Before red-eye flights…

If I know that I’ll be on a red-eye flight, I have strict rules:
1. No alcohol
2. No eating if I plan to sleep within 3 hours

While it can be a bummer to miss these things – especially if you’re in business class – for me, it’s the difference between sleeping 2-3 hours vs 7-8.

Balance movement and stillness

I aim to experience something new, have fun, make a memory, and feel revitalized every day.

That last one? It’s the trickiest. Leave space for “nothing”—quiet mornings, slow walks, hammocks, or saunas. You need both energy and pause to make a trip whole.

Make space for others’ stories

On a lot of my trips, I’ve invited family or friends to join. Give them space to shape the trip, too. Whether it’s helping someone get scuba certified or watching your parents try pasties for the first time, seeing others light up is part of the reward.