Travel Tips

While I travel a lot by any standards, last week was a record, even for me. D.C. to Orlando to Aspen to Sacramento to D.C. to New Orleans. In seven days. The worst was Friday – I landed in D.C. at 8:00 am after taking a red-eye from Sacramento, and was back on a plan at 8:00 pm to go to New Orleans (with a shower and a full day in the office in between). Landing in D.C. that morning, I was complaining in my head to the travel gods, when the gentleman who was seated next to me during the flight turned to me and said “This is my second red-eye this week.” I shouldn’t complain…

To travel in style, here are my favorite travel tips:

1. Be faithful to an airline. Even if it means you will pay a little more. Even if it means you have an extra stop along the way. Being faithful to an airline means “status.” And “status” with the airlines means a lot – including free upgrades. I am faithful to US Airways. 90% of the time. The other 10%, I am faithful to Southwest. And I absolutely refuse to fly American Airlines.

2. A membership to an airline lounge pays for itself. What you don’t have to pay for: Wi-fi. Wine. Food (the warm kind). And the priceless benefits: clean bathrooms, endless outlets to charge your various devices. And travel help when you need it most.

3. To travel in style on long flights and red-eyes, I avoid sweats and yoga wear and favor instead an all-cashmere outfit. Cashmere pants from White and Warren and a gray cashmere turtleneck from Apostrophe, my favorite boutique in Geneva, and flip-flops (easy to take off for security). To avoid cold feet, I always travel with my bright pink Life Is Good socks. On shorter flights, I get my cashmere fix from my pashmina, which I cannot travel without.

4. Buy a bottle of water after security. Not only was drinking more water one of my New Year’s resolutions, but there is truly nothing more uncomfortable than being thirsty on a plane.

5. Travel with an emergency snack. Find the one that works for you and never leave the house without it. I love raw almonds: healthy, easy to pack, satiating.

6. Travel with emergency toiletries: a toothbrush, a tiny tube of toothpaste, a travel brush, eye drops and of course your favorite moisturizer (mine is my very own Kantic+ intensely nourishing cream).

7. Whenever possible, don’t check a bag. No need to spend extra time at the airport waiting for your bag to arrive…